Category B Prisons in the UK: What They Are and Who Goes There
Last reviewed: August 2026
What is a Category B prison?
Adult men in prison in England and Wales are given a security category from A (highest) to D (lowest, open conditions). Category B sits just below maximum security. The official test is that the person does not require the conditions of a Category A prison, but escape must still be made very difficult. In practice this means high walls or fences, controlled movement around the prison, regular searches and a structured, closely supervised regime.
There are two quite different types of Category B establishment. Local prisons (such as HMP Wandsworth, HMP Birmingham and HMP Leeds) serve the courts: they take people straight from sentencing hearings and hold those on remand awaiting trial. They tend to be crowded, with a fast-changing population. Category B training prisons hold convicted men serving longer sentences and generally offer a more settled regime with better access to work, education and offending-behaviour courses.
Who is sent to a Category B prison?
You will typically find three groups in Category B conditions: people on remand awaiting trial or sentence (who are unclassified but held in local prisons run to Category B standards); people convicted of serious offences such as robbery, serious violence or drug supply whose risk does not justify Category A; and people moving down from Category A as their risk reduces. Most men entering custody pass through a Category B local first, whatever their eventual category – see our guide to your first night in prison.
How Category B compares with the other categories
| Category | Security level | Who it holds | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Maximum – escape must be impossible | Highest-risk prisoners: terrorism, organised crime, the most serious violence | Belmarsh, Frankland |
| B | High – escape must be made very difficult | Remand prisoners and those serving sentences for serious offences | Wandsworth, Leeds, Garth |
| C | Lower – closed, but geared to training | People who cannot be trusted in open conditions but are unlikely to try to escape | Highpoint, Ranby |
| D | Open – minimal physical security | Low-risk prisoners preparing for release | Ford, Hollesley Bay |
For a fuller breakdown, see our guide to prison categories in the UK.
Daily life in a Category B prison
Regimes vary a great deal. In a busy local, time out of cell can be limited, association is often short and jobs are in demand. In a Category B trainer there is usually more purposeful activity: workshops, education, gym and programmes. Everyone is subject to the Incentives policy, so behaviour and engagement affect privileges such as extra visits and in-cell entertainment – our page on prison rules explains how this works. Money for canteen comes from prison work and money sent in by family.
A note from experience: the site’s founder, Daniel Hockey, began his own sentence in HMP Wandsworth – a Category B local – before progressing to open conditions at HMP Ford, and wrote about it in The Secret Prisoner (2021). His experience is reflected across this site’s practical guides.
Moving on: recategorisation
Categorisation is reviewed periodically. If risk reduces – through sentence progression, good behaviour and completed courses – a prisoner can move from B to C, and eventually to D. Under the Sentencing Act 2026’s earned-progression approach, engagement with work, education and the sentence plan matters more than ever; see our guide to the Sentencing Act 2026. Transfers between prisons are covered in why prisoners are moved.
- “Category B means the crime was less serious.” Not necessarily – categorisation is about risk and escape potential, not just the offence.
- “Remand prisoners are Category B offenders.” Remand prisoners are unconvicted and unclassified; they are simply held in prisons run to Category B standards.
- “You stay in the same category all sentence.” Categories are reviewed and most long-serving prisoners move down through the system before release.
FAQ
Are visits allowed at Category B prisons?
Yes. All closed prisons offer social visits, usually booked in advance with ID checks on arrival. Enhanced-level prisoners typically get more visits.
How long do people stay in a Category B prison?
Anywhere from a few weeks (remand or early sentence in a local) to several years (training prisons for longer sentences). It depends on sentence length and recategorisation reviews.
Is a Category B prison the same as maximum security?
No – that is Category A. See our guide to UK maximum security prisons.
Do Scotland and Northern Ireland use Category B?
No. Scotland and Northern Ireland use their own systems based on supervision levels rather than the A–D categories used in England and Wales.
Official sources: GOV.UK – life in prison, HM Inspectorate of Prisons, Prison Reform Trust.
