However, the merger was said to have been "traumatic and prolonged", according to a HM Inspectorate of Prisons report, with "significant" delays in the corridor being built and changes to the staffing structure.

[6] A further Inspectorate report in 2018 noted the prison's "robust" approach to drug usage, including photocopying of inmate mail in a bid to prevent drug-soaked letters being smuggled in.

The report also found high levels of victimisation, intimidation and violence, much of it "underpinned by a pervasive drug culture", but said the prison was well led, staff appeared committed and there was an apparent "new-found and growing confidence about its future".

[7] In 2018, the Ministry of Justice recorded 490 assaults at Humber Prison, 182 more than the previous year.

[9] In April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Humber was identified as one of six jails which would be provided with modular buildings, adapted from shipping containers, to provide additional single prison cell accommodation to help counter the spread of coronavirus.