Deerbolt (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Deerbolt is a male juvenile's prison
and Young Offenders Institution located in the Village of Startforth
(near Barnard Castle
), in County Durham
, England
. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
camp.
In 1999 four inmates escaped
from Deerbolt while with an outside working party. A year later a report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
stated that Deerbolt was dangerously overcrowded, with too many inmates and too few resources.
There was a major disturbance at the prison in February 2005 involving six inmates who caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage to the prison chapel
. There was another large disturbance at the prison the following June.
Deerbolt Prison was praised by inspectors in 2005 for improving activity and resettlement services but was criticised for inmates spending too much time in their cells.
In 2007 prison officers passed a vote of no confidence in the governor after A wing at Deerbolt Prison was taken over by inmates in a five hour riot
. Four prison officers were injured at the premises during the disturbance.
Training Prison and caters for approximately 500 prisoners between the ages of 18 – 21, generally serving sentences up to 4 years in length from the North East of England and Humberside
area.
The Education department at the prison is run by New College Durham
, and offers both full and part time classes in a variety of subjects. Courses include music
, art
, drama
, creative writing
, geography
, history
, maths and information technology
. Workshop jobs are available to prisoners who have first completed a qualification in basic literacy
or numeracy
, completed a manual handling course and have done a first aid
qualification. Courses include catering
, office skills, building computers, bricklaying, plastering, charity
workshop, furniture
craft, multiskills, Painting and Decorating, motor mechanics and fork lift truck driving.
Deerbolt prison's gym
also offers physical education
qualifications, as well as being available for recreational use. Other facilities and services at the prison include a library
and a prison chaplaincy.
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 Startforth
Startforth
Startforth is a village in Teesdale, in the Pennines of England, situated a short distance south-west of Barnard Castle, on the opposite side of the River Tees...
(near Barnard Castle
Barnard Castle
Barnard Castle is an historical town in Teesdale, County Durham, England. It is named after the castle around which it grew up. It sits on the north side of the River Tees, opposite Startforth, south southwest of Newcastle upon Tyne, south southwest of Sunderland, west of Middlesbrough and ...
), in County Durham
County Durham
County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...
, 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...
.
History
Deerbolt prison opened in 1973, on the site of a former armyArmy
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
camp.
In 1999 four inmates escaped
Prison escape
A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers...
from Deerbolt while with an outside working party. A year later a report from 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...
stated that Deerbolt was dangerously overcrowded, with too many inmates and too few resources.
There was a major disturbance at the prison in February 2005 involving six inmates who caused tens of thousands of pounds worth of damage to the prison chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
. There was another large disturbance at the prison the following June.
Deerbolt Prison was praised by inspectors in 2005 for improving activity and resettlement services but was criticised for inmates spending too much time in their cells.
In 2007 prison officers passed a vote of no confidence in the governor after A wing at Deerbolt Prison was taken over by inmates in a five hour riot
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
. Four prison officers were injured at the premises during the disturbance.
The prison today
Deerbolt is a Category CPrison security categories in the United Kingdom
There are four prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom used to classify every adult prisoner for the purposes of assigning them to a prison. The categories are based upon the severity of the crime and the risk posed should the person escape....
Training Prison and caters for approximately 500 prisoners between the ages of 18 – 21, generally serving sentences up to 4 years in length from the North East of England and Humberside
Humberside
Humberside was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East and West ridings of Yorkshire and parts of Lindsey, Lincolnshire...
area.
The Education department at the prison is run by New College Durham
New College Durham
.New College Durham is a college of further and higher education in County Durham, England . It was founded in 1977 as a result of a merger between Neville's Cross College of Education and Durham Technical College. The college operated on two main sites near the city of Durham: Neville's Cross and...
, and offers both full and part time classes in a variety of subjects. Courses include music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, maths and information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
. Workshop jobs are available to prisoners who have first completed a qualification in basic literacy
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
or numeracy
Numeracy
Numeracy is the ability to reason with numbers and other mathematical concepts. A numerically literate person can manage and respond to the mathematical demands of life...
, completed a manual handling course and have done a first aid
First aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
qualification. Courses include catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
, office skills, building computers, bricklaying, plastering, charity
Charity (practice)
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need who are not related to the giver.- Etymology :The word "charity" entered the English language through the Old French word "charité" which was derived from the Latin "caritas".Originally in Latin the word caritas meant...
workshop, furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
craft, multiskills, Painting and Decorating, motor mechanics and fork lift truck driving.
Deerbolt prison's gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
also offers physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
qualifications, as well as being available for recreational use. Other facilities and services at the prison 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...
and a prison chaplaincy.