Canterbury (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HMP Canterbury is a men's prison
holding foreign national
s. The prison is located in Canterbury
, Kent
, England
. Canterbury Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
archive during the First World War. After a time as a Naval Detention Centre, the prison was converted into a Category C prison for men.
In 2003 Canterbury Prison was highlighted by the Prison Reform Trust
as being one of the most overcrowded prisons in the country, claiming that Canterbury was overpopulated 57%. Two years later the Howard League for Penal Reform
criticised the prison for its high rates of suicide
s amongst inmates.
In 2007 Canterbury Prison was converted to hold only foreign national prisoners in the UK. This was to allow a centralisation of specialised immigration and language services for foreign prisoners, as well as to allow dedicated immigration officials to work on the deportation of as many inmates as possible (on completion of their sentence).
In 2008 the Princess Royal
visited Canterbury as part of celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the prison.
Facilities at the prison include a gym
, astro-turf pitch, kitchens, education
and workshops. A visitors centre for social visits is open every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
holding foreign national
Foreign national
Foreign national is a term used to describe a person who is not a citizen of the host country in which he or she is residing or temporarily sojourning. In Canada, a foreign national is defined as someone who is not a Canadian citizen nor a permanent resident of Canada...
s. The prison is located in Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Canterbury Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
.
History
The prison originated as a county gaol in 1808 and served as a Home OfficeHome Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
archive during the First World War. After a time as a Naval Detention Centre, the prison was converted into a Category C prison for men.
In 2003 Canterbury Prison was highlighted by the Prison Reform Trust
Prison Reform Trust
The Prison Reform Trust was founded in 1981 in London, England by a small group of prison reform campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform was heading, concentrating more on community punishments than on traditional prison reform issues...
as being one of the most overcrowded prisons in the country, claiming that Canterbury was overpopulated 57%. Two years later the Howard League for Penal Reform
Howard League for Penal Reform
The Howard League for Penal Reform is a London-based registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. Founded in 1866 as the Howard Association, a merger with the Penal Reform League in 1921 created the Howard League for...
criticised the prison for its high rates of suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
s amongst inmates.
In 2007 Canterbury Prison was converted to hold only foreign national prisoners in the UK. This was to allow a centralisation of specialised immigration and language services for foreign prisoners, as well as to allow dedicated immigration officials to work on the deportation of as many inmates as possible (on completion of their sentence).
In 2008 the Princess Royal
Princess Royal
Princess Royal is a style customarily awarded by a British monarch to his or her eldest daughter. The style is held for life, so a princess cannot be given the style during the lifetime of another Princess Royal...
visited Canterbury as part of celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of the prison.
The prison today
Canterbury Prison holds foreign national prisoners (convicted of crimes in the UK) that are serving less than four years of a sentence, with an expectation of removal.Facilities at the prison include a gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
, astro-turf pitch, kitchens, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
and workshops. A visitors centre for social visits is open every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
Notable former inmates
- Michael Stone
- Silvino FranciscoSilvino FranciscoSilvino Francisco is a retired South African professional snooker player.Francisco comes from a snooker-playing family. His brother Mannie and nephew Peter both played at a high level, Mannie having been a runner-up in the World Amateur Billiards Championship on several occasions, and Peter having...
- Ronnie and Reggie KrayKray twinsReginald "Reggie" Kray and his twin brother Ronald "Ronnie" Kray were the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in London's East End during the 1950s and 1960s...