Kennet (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Kennet is a Category C
men's prison
, located in Parkbourn, Maghull
(near Liverpool
) in Merseyside
, England
. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
in December 2006 planned a new facility on the East Site of Ashworth Hospital
, which it leases from MerseyCare NHS Trust. The site of the new prison and surrounding area were known locally as Kennet Heath, so the name Kennet was adopted for the prison.
The prison was converted from the existing medical buildings at a cost of £19 million. It began accepting inmates in September 2007, but was officially opened in February 2008.
The prison offers workshops, training and education to all inmates. Workshops include Bricklaying, Plastering, Construction and Joinery
, as well as Painting and Decorating. Education courses include Information Technology
, Business Studies
, Art and Design, Catering
and Media Studies
.
There is a visitors centre at Kennet Prison, with facilities including a children's play area and refreshments. There is access for disabled visitors throughout the visitors area.
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....
men's 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...
, located in Parkbourn, Maghull
Maghull
Maghull is a town and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, in Merseyside, England. The town is located eight miles north of the City of Liverpool and south of Ormskirk in West Lancashire. The area of Moss Side also contains HM Prison Kennet and Ashworth Hospital. Maghull had a...
(near Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
) in Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, 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
Faced with overcrowding in regional prisons, the National Offender Management ServiceNational Offender Management Service
The National Offender Management Service is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice responsible for the correctional services in England and Wales...
in December 2006 planned a new facility on the East Site of Ashworth Hospital
Ashworth Hospital
Ashworth Hospital is a high security psychiatric hospital at Maghull in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England.Ashworth is one of only three high-security specialist psychiatric hospitals in England and Wales, along with Rampton and Broadmoor, that exist to work with people who...
, which it leases from MerseyCare NHS Trust. The site of the new prison and surrounding area were known locally as Kennet Heath, so the name Kennet was adopted for the prison.
The prison was converted from the existing medical buildings at a cost of £19 million. It began accepting inmates in September 2007, but was officially opened in February 2008.
The prison today
Kennet Prison holds Category C adult males from the surrounding area. Accommodation at the prison is divided between seven units, predominantly containing double occupancy cells with integral sanitation, showers on all landings, purpose built serveries, and association facilities. There is also an additional segregation unit.The prison offers workshops, training and education to all inmates. Workshops include Bricklaying, Plastering, Construction and Joinery
Joiner
A joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
, as well as Painting and Decorating. Education courses include 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...
, Business Studies
Business studies
Business studies is an academic subject taught at higher level in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, as well as at university level in many countries...
, Art and Design, 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...
and Media Studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
.
There is a visitors centre at Kennet Prison, with facilities including a children's play area and refreshments. There is access for disabled visitors throughout the visitors area.