Featherstone (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Featherstone is a Category C
men's prison
, located in the village of Featherstone
(near Wolverhampton
), in Staffordshire
, England
. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
. Brinsford Prison
was opened on the same site, adjacent to Featherstone in 1991.
In a 2001 study by the Prison Reform Trust
, Featherstone Prison was revealed to have the highest number of drug-using prisoners in the UK. 34% of all inmates in the jail admitted to taking drugs. A year later it was revealed that inmates were brewing their own beer using Marmite
, with fruit and vegetables also being used to make alcoholic drinks. However the governor of the day Mike Pasco stated that, while not condoning the practice, he found it preferable to the inmates smuggling hard drugs into the prison.
In 2004, a report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
stated that the drug problems at Featherstone had been "turned around", and that the prison "was largely calm and efficient with little bullying". However the report also warned that improvements had not been made without a cost, as the new emphasis on security "pervaded the life" of the prison, creating an "over-controlled" environment.
In 2006 another report by the Chief Inspector criticised Featherstone Prison for its overcrowding and poor environment, "with poorly-managed strip search
es and too many prisoners being locked in cells during the day."
In 2007 a government study found that Featherstone Prison had the highest percentage of inmates in the UK testing positive for opiates such as heroin. During the study, prisoners were randomly tested throughout the UK over a three-month period, and 16.7% of the inmates tested at Featherstone had been taking opiates.
, workshops, Physical Education
, Enhanced Thinking Skills programmes, Welfare to Work programmes, a Job Club, community projects and a Listeners Scheme to its prisoners, who are required to work as directed by the Labour Board.
There is a Visitors Centre outside the prison which has toilets, refreshments and children's play 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 the village of Featherstone
Featherstone, Staffordshire
Featherstone is a small village in the district of South Staffordshire, England, near to the border with Wolverhampton. Originally a farming community consisting of a few scattered farms. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, and was owned by the Clergy of Wolverhampton Church...
(near Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
), in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked 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. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, 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
Featherstone Prison was constructed on property previously owned by the Ministry of DefenceMinistry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
. Brinsford Prison
Brinsford (HM Prison)
HM Prison Brinsford is a male juvenile's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Featherstone , in Staffordshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
was opened on the same site, adjacent to Featherstone in 1991.
In a 2001 study by the Prison Reform Trust
Prison Reform Trust
The Prison Reform Trust was founded in 1981 in London, England by a small group of prison reform campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform was heading, concentrating more on community punishments than on traditional prison reform issues...
, Featherstone Prison was revealed to have the highest number of drug-using prisoners in the UK. 34% of all inmates in the jail admitted to taking drugs. A year later it was revealed that inmates were brewing their own beer using Marmite
Marmite
Marmite is the name given to two similar food spreads: the original British version, first produced in the United Kingdom and later South Africa, and a version produced in New Zealand...
, with fruit and vegetables also being used to make alcoholic drinks. However the governor of the day Mike Pasco stated that, while not condoning the practice, he found it preferable to the inmates smuggling hard drugs into the prison.
In 2004, a report 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...
stated that the drug problems at Featherstone had been "turned around", and that the prison "was largely calm and efficient with little bullying". However the report also warned that improvements had not been made without a cost, as the new emphasis on security "pervaded the life" of the prison, creating an "over-controlled" environment.
In 2006 another report by the Chief Inspector criticised Featherstone Prison for its overcrowding and poor environment, "with poorly-managed strip search
Strip search
A strip search is the stripping of a person to check for weapons or other contraband.-Legality of strip searches:...
es and too many prisoners being locked in cells during the day."
In 2007 a government study found that Featherstone Prison had the highest percentage of inmates in the UK testing positive for opiates such as heroin. During the study, prisoners were randomly tested throughout the UK over a three-month period, and 16.7% of the inmates tested at Featherstone had been taking opiates.
The prison today
An adult Category C Closed Training prison, Featherstone Prison has single and double cells. The prison offers educationEducation
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, workshops, 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....
, Enhanced Thinking Skills programmes, Welfare to Work programmes, a Job Club, community projects and a Listeners Scheme to its prisoners, who are required to work as directed by the Labour Board.
There is a Visitors Centre outside the prison which has toilets, refreshments and children's play area.
Notable former inmates
- Lee HughesLee HughesLee Hughes is an English Footballer who plays for Notts County as a striker.-Non-League and West Bromwich Albion:On leaving Bristnall Hall High School, Oldbury in 1992 Hughes started playing semi-professionally in non-League football with Kidderminster Harriers in the Football Conference, as well...
, former West Bromwich AlbionWest Bromwich Albion F.C.West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...
striker.