Downview (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Downview is a women's closed category prison
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...

. Downview is located on the outskirts of Banstead
Banstead
Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in the county of Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London. It lies south of London, west of Croydon and of the county town of Kingston-Upon-Thames. Banstead is on the North Downs and is protected by the Metropolitan Green Belt;...

 in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part 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...

 (overlooking Banstead Downs
Banstead Downs
Banstead Downs is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Surrey, England . It covers . To the west is the A217 and to east is the B2218. The town to the north is Sutton; whilst Banstead lies to the south...

), and is immediately adjacent to the southern boundary of Belmont
Belmont, Sutton
Belmont is a village in the London Borough of Sutton in southwest Greater London, England. It is located off the A217 road and near to Banstead Downs in Surrey. It is a suburban development situated 10.8 miles south-southwest of Charing Cross....

 in Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

. 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...

, and is situated in proximity to High Down Prison for men.

History

Downview was converted from a former nurses' home of The Royal Marsden Hospital
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust
The Royal Marsden Hospital is a specialist cancer treatment hospital in London, England. It is an NHS Foundation Trust, and operates facilities on two sites:*The Chelsea site in Brompton, next to the Royal Brompton Hospital, on Fulham Road...

 and opened in 1989 as a Category C
Prison 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....

 Male Prison.

In 1992 HMP Downview saw the establishment of the UK's first intensive drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme. The programme was established by RAPt
RAPt
Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust is a British charity which helps people with drug and alcohol dependence move towards, achieve and maintain drug and crime-free lives....

 (Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust) and was opened by the actor Sir Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...

, who remains a patron of the trust.

In September 2001 Downview changed its role to a "closed" prison for adult women, due to increased demand for places at women's prisons in the UK. A year later one of the prison's chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...

s resigned after claims that he'd demanded sexual favours from inmates in exchange for communion wine.

In December 2004 a 16 bed juvenile unit opened at Downview for young female offenders (both remand and convicted) aged from 15-18 in partnership with the Youth Justice Board
Youth Justice Board
The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales is an executive non-departmental public body, funded by and reporting to the Ministry of Justice and Department for Education and Skills...

.

In April 2006 the PRIME project was launched at Downview, which is a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 and media station inside the prison. Prisoners can achieve a BTEC
Business And Technology Education Council (BTEC)
The Business and Technology Education Council is the British body which awards vocational qualifications. Such qualifications are commonly referred to as "BTECs"....

 qualification for completing the course.

The prison today

Downview Prison holds adult Sentenced Female prisoners and convicted and remanded female juveniles. The prison holds approximately 50% foreign nationals, many of whom are of Jamaican and Nigerian. Downview is divided into 4 Wings, A,B,C,D (D wing is a resettlement Wing), and the Juvenile Unit. All wings have single cell accommodation with in-cell electricity.

The prison offers vocational training courses and NVQs for inmates. The resettlement wing provides opportunities for inmates to work and receive education outside the prison.

External links

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