Feltham Young Offenders' Institution
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Feltham is a prison for male juveniles and Young Offenders Institution, located near Feltham
town in the London Borough of Hounslow
, in southwest London
, England
. Feltham Prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
The current institution was formed in 1991 as a result of a merger between Feltham Borstal and the Ashford Remand Centre. It is managed directly by Her Majesty's Prison Service
using crown constable prison officers, rather than management being contracted out to a private firm.
In recent years the Institution has been repeatedly criticised in reports for allegedly having a climate of racism amongst certain officers. The reports follow in the wake of the murder of Zahid Mubarek
by his racist cellmate Robert Stewart on the day Mubarek was due to be released. The prison also has a notorious reputation for violent assaults both inside and outside of the prison service. Proposals made to distance HMP Feltham from its reputation included the suggestion of renaming it to 'HMP Bedfont Lakes'. However this proposition has met little support.
The most recent inspection by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
was in May 2005. The 2005 Report highlighted the progress made and praised the effective reception and induction procedures, the Outreach Team that deal with self harm issues and the measures in place to deal with race relations issues. Excellent voluntary sector work takes place within Feltham with a full time voluntary sector co-ordinator managing the 25 plus agencies operating within Feltham.
The prison's regime includes education (full/part-time), workshops, vocational training in the construction industry, farms and gardens, works, and NVQs. Various types of offending behaviour groups are available. Other features include the use of voluntary agencies, one-to-one teaching, substance misuse work, and pre-release courses.
Feltham
Feltham is a town in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It is located about west south west of central London at Charing Cross and from Heathrow Airport Central...
town in the London Borough of Hounslow
London Borough of Hounslow
-Political composition:Since the borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two occasions. In 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority for the first and last time to date until they lost control to Labour in 1971. Labour subsequently lost control of the council in the...
, in southwest London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, 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...
. Feltham 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 original Feltham institution was built in 1854 as an Industrial School and was taken over in 1910 by the Prison Commissioners as their second Borstal institution. The existing building opened as a Remand Centre in March 1988.The current institution was formed in 1991 as a result of a merger between Feltham Borstal and the Ashford Remand Centre. It is managed directly 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...
using crown constable prison officers, rather than management being contracted out to a private firm.
In recent years the Institution has been repeatedly criticised in reports for allegedly having a climate of racism amongst certain officers. The reports follow in the wake of the murder of Zahid Mubarek
Zahid Mubarek
Zahid Mubarek was a British Asian teenager who was brutally murdered by his cellmate on March 21, 2000, at the Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in southwest London. He was already inside Feltham when his killer, 20-year-old Robert Stewart - was transferred to his cell.-Family...
by his racist cellmate Robert Stewart on the day Mubarek was due to be released. The prison also has a notorious reputation for violent assaults both inside and outside of the prison service. Proposals made to distance HMP Feltham from its reputation included the suggestion of renaming it to 'HMP Bedfont Lakes'. However this proposition has met little support.
The most recent inspection 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...
was in May 2005. The 2005 Report highlighted the progress made and praised the effective reception and induction procedures, the Outreach Team that deal with self harm issues and the measures in place to deal with race relations issues. Excellent voluntary sector work takes place within Feltham with a full time voluntary sector co-ordinator managing the 25 plus agencies operating within Feltham.
The prison today
Young adults and juveniles occupy different residential units. Each residential unit is named after a bird. Units housing young offenders hold approximately 60 prisoners. Units housing juveniles hold 30 prisoners. Almost all the juvenile rooms are for single occupation. There is a mixture of double and single accommodation for young offenders (mostly double). All rooms have integral sanitation and TV and all areas operate the IEP scheme (incentives and earned privilege scheme).The prison's regime includes education (full/part-time), workshops, vocational training in the construction industry, farms and gardens, works, and NVQs. Various types of offending behaviour groups are available. Other features include the use of voluntary agencies, one-to-one teaching, substance misuse work, and pre-release courses.
Notable inmates
- Zahid MubarekZahid MubarekZahid Mubarek was a British Asian teenager who was brutally murdered by his cellmate on March 21, 2000, at the Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in southwest London. He was already inside Feltham when his killer, 20-year-old Robert Stewart - was transferred to his cell.-Family...
, inmate murdered by his cellmate at Feltham. - Mohammad Amir, cricketer convicted for his part in the Pakistan cricket spot-fixing controversy.
In popular culture
- Feltham Prison is the subject of the Hard-FiHARD-FiHard-Fi are an English indie rock band formed in Staines, Surrey in 2003. The band's members are Richard Archer , Ross Phillips , Kai Stephens and Steve Kemp .They achieved chart success with their third single, "Hard to Beat" and then followed by other successful singles such as...
track "Feltham Is Singing Out".