Stoke Heath (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Stoke Heath is a male juveniles prison
and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Stoke Heath
(near Market Drayton
) in Shropshire
, England
. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
prison for adult males. It was converted to a Borstal
2 years later and has been used to hold young offenders ever since.
At the beginning of December 2004, the Howard League for Penal Reform
accused Stoke Heath of abusing the human rights
of young offenders. The Howard League’s main criticism was concerned with the use of strip cells by the staff of Stoke Heath.
In October 2006, four prison officers were injured in a riot involving more than 30 inmates at Stoke Heath. None of the inmates were injured during the disturbance.
In 2007, a spot inspection criticised Stoke Heath for failing to make improvements recommended in a 2005 inspection. The inspectorate recommended that the prison must refurbish its "unacceptably grubby" segregation unit and establish proper risk assessments for strip searches.
. A variety of couses and vocational training placements are offered, most of which can lead to NVQ qualifications in related fields.
In addition the prisons gym
and sports department offer various physical education
courses, as well as being available for recreational use. The prison also has a multi-faith 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 Stoke Heath
Stoke Heath, Shropshire
Stoke Heath is a small village, located in the parish of Stoke upon Tern in Shropshire, England.The village is the location of Stoke Heath Prison, a male juvenile's prison and Young Offenders Institution.-External links:...
(near Market Drayton
Market Drayton
Market Drayton is a small market town in north Shropshire, England. It is on the River Tern, between Shrewsbury and Stoke-on-Trent, and was formerly known as "Drayton in Hales" and earlier simply as "Drayton" ....
) in Shropshire
Shropshire
Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, 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
Stoke Heath was built in 1964 as 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....
prison for adult males. It was converted to a Borstal
Borstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...
2 years later and has been used to hold young offenders ever since.
At the beginning of December 2004, the Howard League for Penal Reform
Howard League for Penal Reform
The Howard League for Penal Reform is a London-based registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. Founded in 1866 as the Howard Association, a merger with the Penal Reform League in 1921 created the Howard League for...
accused Stoke Heath of abusing the human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
of young offenders. The Howard League’s main criticism was concerned with the use of strip cells by the staff of Stoke Heath.
In October 2006, four prison officers were injured in a riot involving more than 30 inmates at Stoke Heath. None of the inmates were injured during the disturbance.
In 2007, a spot inspection criticised Stoke Heath for failing to make improvements recommended in a 2005 inspection. The inspectorate recommended that the prison must refurbish its "unacceptably grubby" segregation unit and establish proper risk assessments for strip searches.
The prison today
Stoke Heath holds male juveniles and young offenders up to the age of 21. Because of this, education and training for inmates is the main focus of the prison. Education and training courses are provided by The Manchester CollegeThe Manchester College
The Manchester College is a further education college in Manchester, England. It opened on 1 August 2008 as the result of a merger between City College Manchester and Manchester College of Arts and Technology to form a 'supercollege'...
. A variety of couses and vocational training placements are offered, most of which can lead to NVQ qualifications in related fields.
In addition the prisons 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 department offer various 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....
courses, as well as being available for recreational use. The prison also has a multi-faith chaplaincy.