Guys Marsh (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Guys Marsh is a Category C
men's prison
, located near Shaftesbury
, Dorset
, England
. Guys Marsh is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
Nissan huts and the only buildings that had been added were the officers quarters(around 50 houses) and the boiler house. The borstal continued in the buildings until the 1980s, when gradually the structures of the building were rebuilt or refurbished. In 1984, Guys Marsh became a Young Offender Institution. In 1992, it began also housing adult prisoners when the building of a perimeter fence made of it a closed establishment. Guys Marsh soon became an all-adult prison, and within 18 months the jail managed to increase its operating capacity by 278.
In January 2002 the Board of Visitors criticised Guys Marsh prison failing to meet government standards on re-offending rates amongst released prisoners. The board blamed a shortage of staff and shortage of money for poor facilities at the jail. The Board also expressed concern over medical care, after a local GP's practice withdrew its services from the prison.
Guys Marsh offers workshops to prisoners including Farm
s and Estates Management, Laundry
, Industrial Cleaning, Bricklaying and a number of contract production workshops. Some of the workshops run recognised external qualifications.
A Visitor Centre is available at the prison, with facilities including toilets and a baby changing room.
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 near Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, 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...
. Guys Marsh 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
Guys Marsh was a former US Military Hospital. In 1960 it opened as a borstal(HM Borstal Guys Marsh). The buildings were standard World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Nissan huts and the only buildings that had been added were the officers quarters(around 50 houses) and the boiler house. The borstal continued in the buildings until the 1980s, when gradually the structures of the building were rebuilt or refurbished. In 1984, Guys Marsh became a Young Offender Institution. In 1992, it began also housing adult prisoners when the building of a perimeter fence made of it a closed establishment. Guys Marsh soon became an all-adult prison, and within 18 months the jail managed to increase its operating capacity by 278.
In January 2002 the Board of Visitors criticised Guys Marsh prison failing to meet government standards on re-offending rates amongst released prisoners. The board blamed a shortage of staff and shortage of money for poor facilities at the jail. The Board also expressed concern over medical care, after a local GP's practice withdrew its services from the prison.
The prison today
Accommodation at Guys Marsh comprises seven residential units, which have cellular accommodation and one unit has less secure rooms.Guys Marsh offers workshops to prisoners including Farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
s and Estates Management, Laundry
Laundry
Laundry is a noun that refers to the act of washing clothing and linens, the place where that washing is done, and/or that which needs to be, is being, or has been laundered...
, Industrial Cleaning, Bricklaying and a number of contract production workshops. Some of the workshops run recognised external qualifications.
A Visitor Centre is available at the prison, with facilities including toilets and a baby changing room.