Eastwood Park (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Eastwood Park is a women's closed category prison
, located in the village of Falfield
in Gloucestershire
, England
. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
.
In September 1998 the Chief inspector of Prisons issued a report warning that Eastwood Park Prison was keeping a number of inmates in cells that were below the nationally recommended standard size.
In May 2002 a further inspection of Eastwood Park found that inmates were at serious risk of suicide
and self-harm
. Referring to Eastwood as "an establishment in crisis", the inspection report noted that staff was having trouble creating decent conditions for its inmates, among whom 56 women had been identified as suicide risks in a single month. In that same month, the report said, 47 separate cases of self-harm had occurred.
A further report in March 2004 stated that the prison was still facing "major challenges". However the report also noted that prisoners felt safer at Eastwood Park than in women's prisons generally.
, Cookery, Diversity, Salon Services, Manicure
, Preparation for Work, Drug and Alcohol Awareness and Industrial Cleaning. The prison also offers employment with work-based qualifications. In addition Eastwood Park has a gym
for physical education
as well as recreational gym.
The Family and Friends Centre is the visitors centre at Eastwood Park Prison, and has facilities including toilets, a refreshments counter, information points and a small play area for children.
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 the village of Falfield
Falfield
Falfield is a village, located near the northern border of the South Gloucestershire district of Gloucestershire, England. The area has a Wotton-under-Edge post code and so is often incorrectly listed as being in the Stroud district of Gloucestershire....
in Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, 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
Eastwood Park Prison originally opened as a male juvenile Detention Centre, and then became a Young Offenders Institution. In March 1996 Eastwood Park was converted into a women's prison, receiving staff and prisoners brought from the old Pucklechurch PrisonAshfield (HM Prison)
HM Prison Ashfield is a male juvenile's prison located in the village of Pucklechurch , in Gloucestershire, England. The prison is operated by the Serco Group....
.
In September 1998 the Chief inspector of Prisons issued a report warning that Eastwood Park Prison was keeping a number of inmates in cells that were below the nationally recommended standard size.
In May 2002 a further inspection of Eastwood Park found that inmates were at serious risk of suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and self-harm
Self-harm
Self-harm or deliberate self-harm includes self-injury and self-poisoning and is defined as the intentional, direct injuring of body tissue most often done without suicidal intentions. These terms are used in the more recent literature in an attempt to reach a more neutral terminology...
. Referring to Eastwood as "an establishment in crisis", the inspection report noted that staff was having trouble creating decent conditions for its inmates, among whom 56 women had been identified as suicide risks in a single month. In that same month, the report said, 47 separate cases of self-harm had occurred.
A further report in March 2004 stated that the prison was still facing "major challenges". However the report also noted that prisoners felt safer at Eastwood Park than in women's prisons generally.
The prison today
Eastwood Park Prison offers education courses in Basic Skills, wider Key Skills, Information TechnologyInformation 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...
, Cookery, Diversity, Salon Services, Manicure
Manicure
A manicure is a cosmetic beauty treatment for the fingernails and hands performed at home or in a nail salon. A manicure treatment is not only a treatment for the natural nails but also for the hands. A manicure consists of filing, shaping of the free edge, treatments, massage of the hand and the...
, Preparation for Work, Drug and Alcohol Awareness and Industrial Cleaning. The prison also offers employment with work-based qualifications. In addition Eastwood Park has a gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
for 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....
as well as recreational gym.
The Family and Friends Centre is the visitors centre at Eastwood Park Prison, and has facilities including toilets, a refreshments counter, information points and a small play area for children.