Castington (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Castington is a male juvenile's prison
and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Acklington
in Northumberland
, England
. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
Castington Prison is the most northerly Young Offenders Institution in England, and is built on the site of the former RAF Acklington
airfield.
named it as the most violent detention centre in England.
Various improvements to the regime and facilities at Castington were implemented over the next few years with positive results. In 2005 the prison was declared a safe, respectful and purposeful environment by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
.
In July 2011, it was announced that Castington along with several other publicly operated prisons, would be market tested, allowing private operators as well as HM Prison service, to tender for the contract to operate the prison.
The prison provides full-time education
and vocational training geared towards GCSEs, GNVQs and City and Guilds qualifications for all inmates. Facilities at Castington include a library
, fully equipped gym
and sports pitches. In addition the prison's P.E. Department organise various sports teams and competitions. The prison chaplaincy includes eight members from various christian
denominations as well as an imam
.
Castington's Healthcare Centre has nursing cover 24 hours per day with seven in-patient beds and a Primary Care area. Outpatient facilities include a daily GP surgery with access to a dentist
, optician
, and podiatrist, as well as specialised mental health services.
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...
and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Acklington
Acklington
Acklington is a small village in Northumberland, England. It is situated to the south-west of Amble, inland from the North Sea coast. It is served by Acklington railway station...
in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, 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...
. The 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...
.
Castington Prison is the most northerly Young Offenders Institution in England, and is built on the site of the former RAF Acklington
RAF Acklington
The former Royal Air Force Station Acklington, commonly known as RAF Acklington, was a Royal Air Force airfield airbase situated near Acklington, in Northumberland, England....
airfield.
History
Castington Prison was subject to a hostage crisis in 1997 when a prison officer was held hostage by two inmates for nineteen hours. At least two small fires were lit at the prison by inmates during the disturbance. Castington was involved in more controversy in 2001 when the Prison Reform TrustPrison 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...
named it as the most violent detention centre in England.
Various improvements to the regime and facilities at Castington were implemented over the next few years with positive results. In 2005 the prison was declared a safe, respectful and purposeful environment by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales...
.
In July 2011, it was announced that Castington along with several other publicly operated prisons, would be market tested, allowing private operators as well as HM Prison service, to tender for the contract to operate the prison.
The prison today
Castington has the capacity to accommodate 128 sentenced and unsentenced juveniles (aged 15–17), 40 trainees (aged 15–17), as well as 120 sentenced and 120 unsentenced young offenders (aged 18–21). The prison is divided into seven units, all of which are equipped with integral sanitation.The prison provides full-time 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 vocational training geared towards GCSEs, GNVQs and City and Guilds qualifications for all inmates. Facilities at Castington include a library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, fully equipped gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
and sports pitches. In addition the prison's P.E. Department organise various sports teams and competitions. The prison chaplaincy includes eight members from various christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
denominations as well as an imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
.
Castington's Healthcare Centre has nursing cover 24 hours per day with seven in-patient beds and a Primary Care area. Outpatient facilities include a daily GP surgery with access to a dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
, optician
Optician
An optician is a person who is trained to fill prescriptions for eye correction in the field of medicine, also known as a dispensing optician or optician, dispensing...
, and podiatrist, as well as specialised mental health services.