Wealstun (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Wealstun is a Category C
men's prison
, located near the village of Thorp Arch
in West Yorkshire
, England
. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
side within one establishment. A great deal of building development has taken place at the prison in recent years, and has recently been completed..
In June 2003, 20 prisoners were involved in a rooftop protest at Wealstun Prison. The inmates smashed windows and climbed up drainpipes and ledges to the roof of the jail. After 19 hours some of the prisoners came down from the roof, but some of the inmates lasted 30 hours on the roof before surrendering peacefully.
In February 2004, an inspection report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
criticised Wealstun Prison for being mouldy, damp and infested with rats. The report made 135 recommendations for improvements at the jail, and stated that in parts of the prison there was no alarm system, basic repairs had been neglected and windows were smashed or missing. However following a more recent inspection, HMP Wealstun was highly praised for the work undertaken there.
In 2008 due to Category C overcrowding problems in the prison service, HMP Wealstun was re-rolled from a Category C/D prison to a wholly Category C prison and as a result the open side of the prison closed, and was converted to provide additional category C accommodation. The new Category C area commenced operation in April 2010.
Wealstun offers education
, workshops, training courses, farms and gardens and a works department. The prison has a Listener Scheme (supported by the Samaritans
and prison officers) and a Community Integration Unit and work out scheme. Wealstun is served by Leeds North East Primary Care Trust, with a part-time medical officer and an on-call facility. HMP Wealstun also has extensive services and provisions in place to help with resettlement and reducing reoffending.
Wealstun has a Visitors Centre for use on visiting days, and a modern visiting room is in operation, which has play area facilities and a refreshment counter where food may be purchased.
HMP Wealstun opened fully as a category C establishment in April 2010 after the security building work was completed on the conversion of the category D part of the prison.
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 the village of Thorp Arch
Thorp Arch (village)
Thorp Arch is a small village and civil parish near Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England. The village comes under the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. The village is set on the River Wharfe, has a primary school and public house. The village is in the LS23 Wetherby postcode area and has a Wetherby...
in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, 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
Wealstun Prison was formed from the almagamation of HMP Thorp Arch and HMP Rudgate on 1 April 1995 ; both built in 1965, on the site of ROF Thorp Arch). The amalgamation of two neighbouring establishments was an historic development for the Prison Service, and had the effect of creating a category C closed side and category D openOpen prison
An open prison is an informal description applied to any penal establishment in which the prisoners are trusted to serve their sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and so do not need to be locked up in prison cells...
side within one establishment. A great deal of building development has taken place at the prison in recent years, and has recently been completed..
In June 2003, 20 prisoners were involved in a rooftop protest at Wealstun Prison. The inmates smashed windows and climbed up drainpipes and ledges to the roof of the jail. After 19 hours some of the prisoners came down from the roof, but some of the inmates lasted 30 hours on the roof before surrendering peacefully.
In February 2004, an inspection report from 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...
criticised Wealstun Prison for being mouldy, damp and infested with rats. The report made 135 recommendations for improvements at the jail, and stated that in parts of the prison there was no alarm system, basic repairs had been neglected and windows were smashed or missing. However following a more recent inspection, HMP Wealstun was highly praised for the work undertaken there.
In 2008 due to Category C overcrowding problems in the prison service, HMP Wealstun was re-rolled from a Category C/D prison to a wholly Category C prison and as a result the open side of the prison closed, and was converted to provide additional category C accommodation. The new Category C area commenced operation in April 2010.
The prison today
Accommodation at Wealstun includes 15 double-occupancy cells on B Wing. The remainder of the Category C cells are single-occupancy covering 10 wings (A - J Wing).Wealstun offers education
Education
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, training courses, farms and gardens and a works department. The prison has a Listener Scheme (supported by the Samaritans
Samaritans (charity)
Samaritans is a registered charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress or at risk of suicide throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, often through their telephone helpline. The name comes from the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan, though the organisation...
and prison officers) and a Community Integration Unit and work out scheme. Wealstun is served by Leeds North East Primary Care Trust, with a part-time medical officer and an on-call facility. HMP Wealstun also has extensive services and provisions in place to help with resettlement and reducing reoffending.
Wealstun has a Visitors Centre for use on visiting days, and a modern visiting room is in operation, which has play area facilities and a refreshment counter where food may be purchased.
HMP Wealstun opened fully as a category C establishment in April 2010 after the security building work was completed on the conversion of the category D part of the prison.