10th August 2026
The Unlocked Vanguard Wings project is evaluating the impact of our unique model for recruiting, training and developing outstanding prison officers across the wider workforce for the first time. Working in partnership with two London prisons, we are testing what happens when you recruit prison officers according to values, train and develop them effectively, and then give them the autonomy to make the right decisions for those in their care.
We have seen the impact of this model on our award-winning programme over the past 10 years. Now, we are proving it at scale.
Interim analysis of combined data from Unlocked’s Vanguard Wings at HMP Wandsworth and HMP Pentonville showed that assaults have fallen by 45% and incidents of self-harm by 57%. It also found that general disorder had fallen by 62%. Staff working on the two wings lost roughly half as many days to sickness as colleagues elsewhere in the prisons.
The findings remain interim and have not yet reached statistical significance. The evaluation – designed as a randomised controlled trial – is being carried out independently by academics from The Policy Institute at King’s College London. Researchers will continue tracking the data to determine whether the emerging trends become statistically robust, with a final independent report due to be published in December 2026.
The Vanguard Wings project has four central elements. Officers are selected for qualities including relationship-building, judgement, leadership potential and a belief that change is possible. They undertake an immersion visit to a high-performing prison, receive fortnightly in-person training from Unlocked and are given more autonomy to shape how their wing operates each day.
Following a visit to G Wing at HMP Wandsworth, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said relationships had been “transformed”, the regime was “unrecognisably good” and behaviour was “far better”.
Natasha Porter OBE, chief executive of Unlocked, said:
“Prison officers do one of the hardest jobs in public service, but the way they are recruited, trained and supported has not always kept pace with the complexity of the role.
Unlocked was founded on the belief that a prison cannot outperform the quality of its officers. Recruit the right people, train and support them properly and give them the authority to lead on the frontline, and you should get better outcomes.
These are still early findings, but the signs are extremely promising: safer prisons and a more stable workforce. The final evaluation will tell us how far those results hold.”
Notes to editors
For a copy of the interim findings please contact sam.franklin@unlockedgrads.org.uk.
The project is a partnership between Unlocked, HMP Wandsworth and HMP Pentonville. Unlocked funds the training, staff support, academic research, international exchanges and limited refurbishment work.
The prisons provide the officers and wing space, using the same staffing ratios as other areas of the establishments. The project has received no additional funding from the Ministry of Justice or HM Prison and Probation Service.
Unlocked has committed to publishing the final evaluation whether the results are positive, negative or mixed. Its longer-term aim is for the trial to inform how prison officers are recruited, trained, supported and trusted across the wider system.