Category C Prison (Cat C): What It Means and What to Expect
Last reviewed: August 2026
What is a Category C prison?
Prisons in England and Wales place adult men into one of four security categories, from Category A (highest security) down to Category D (open). Category C sits one step above open conditions. It is still a closed prison – there are walls, fences, locked gates and controlled movement – but the physical security and staffing levels are lighter than in a Category B local or training prison. The official test, set out in the Ministry of Justice security categorisation policy on GOV.UK, is that a Cat C prisoner “cannot be trusted in open conditions but is unlikely to make a determined escape attempt”.
Because Cat C establishments are branded “training and resettlement” prisons, the regime is built around purposeful activity: workshops, industry, vocational qualifications, education classes and offending-behaviour courses. In practice, the quality of that activity varies a great deal between prisons – something HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) regularly highlights.
How Category C compares with the other categories
| Category | Who it holds | Security level | Typical focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category A | Men whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or national security | Maximum – high walls, dedicated searching, close supervision | Containment and control |
| Category B | Men who do not need maximum security but for whom escape must be made very difficult; includes most local/remand prisons | High | Reception, remand, early sentence |
| Category C | Men unlikely to attempt escape but not yet trusted in open conditions | Medium – closed, but lighter security | Training, work, resettlement |
| Category D | Men who can reasonably be trusted not to abscond | Open – no perimeter wall; release on temporary licence common | Resettlement, working out |
Who ends up in a Cat C prison?
Most sentenced men do, at some stage. After sentencing you are normally held first in a Category B local prison while an initial categorisation is completed. Unless the offence, sentence length or risk factors require Category A or B conditions, men are commonly allocated to Category C and transferred to a training prison. Men serving longer sentences usually work their way down the categories over time – a process explained in our guide to prison categorisation. Re-categorisation reviews consider behaviour, sentence plan progress, drug tests and security intelligence.
Daily life in a Category C prison
Expect a structured week: unlock in the morning, movement to work or education, lunch behind your door on many wings, afternoon activity, association in the evening if the regime allows. Pay for prison jobs is modest – typically £10–£20 a week – and is spent through the prison canteen. Family contact continues through visits, letters and phones; see our guide to booking a prison visit.
A note from experience: our founder Daniel Hockey served a prison sentence himself, moving from HMP Wandsworth through the system to open conditions at HMP Ford, and wrote about it in The Secret Prisoner (2021). His consistent advice for Cat C time: get a job or a course on day one, keep your record clean, and treat every review as a step towards Cat D. Read more about Daniel here.
- “Cat C means an easy jail.” It is still a closed prison with cells, searches and discipline – only Category D is “open”.
- “The prison is Category C, so everyone in it is low risk.” Categories apply to individual prisoners; populations are mixed in character even where the category is shared.
- “You automatically drop a category after a set time.” Re-categorisation must be earned and evidenced at review – it is never automatic.
- “Visits are harder in Cat C.” Visits generally run to a similar pattern as other closed prisons, and many Cat C prisons run family days.
Moving on: from Cat C to Cat D
The realistic goal for most men in Cat C is progression to a Category D open prison, where release on temporary licence (ROTL) allows work and home leave before release. Reviews look at behaviour, completed courses, security reports and risk of abscond. If you are knocked back, you can ask for written reasons and address them before the next review. Independent information on progression and release is available from the Prison Reform Trust advice service.
Frequently asked questions
What crimes put you in a Category C prison?
There is no fixed list – category depends on risk, not just offence. Men convicted of anything from fraud to serious violence can be Cat C once their assessed escape and harm risk fits the criteria. See our page on crimes that commonly lead to Cat C.
How long do prisoners stay in Cat C?
Anything from a few months to several years, depending on sentence length and progress. Many shorter-sentence men are released directly from Category C without ever reaching open conditions.
Can Cat C prisoners have phones and visits?
Yes. Closed prisons in England and Wales now generally have in-cell PIN phones for calls to approved numbers, and normal social visits apply – see prison phone call policies.
Are Category C prisons safe?
Generally they are among the more settled parts of the estate, but HMIP inspections show real variation, with drugs and staff shortages the recurring problems. Individual inspection reports are published on the HMIP website.
