Whitemoor (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Whitemoor is a Category A
men's prison
, located near the town of March
in Cambridgeshire
, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
. In September 1994 while under the govenorship of Brodie Clark
, six prisoners including Paul Magee
and other IRA
members, escaped from the prison's Special Secure Unit after smuggling a gun into the prison. All were later recaptured.
In April 2005, it was alleged that a wind turbine
situated near Whitemoor Prison was being switched off in the early mornings because the flickering shadows it created annoyed inmates. The turbine had been halted because of possible security problems if prisoners became upset over the flickering shadows.
In August 2005, the prison was locked down for two days following an explosion in a wing. A full search was carried after the firework-like blast, however it caused no damage to the prison.
In June 2006, an inspection report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
criticised staff at Whitemoor Prison for ignoring prisoners, and not responding to their queries and requests for help promptly enough. The report also criticised the prisons healthcare and pharmacy, as well stating that black and Asian prisoners felt subtle discrimination against them. However the report did praise Whitemoors specialist units - such as the dangerous and severe personality disorders wing - which were said to be performing well.
A further inspection report stated, in October 2008, that staff at Whitemoor Prison felt fear that Muslim inmates were attempting to radicalise others held at the jail. According to inspectors, officers tended to treat Muslim prisoners as extremists and potential security risks, even though only eight of them had been convicted of terrorist offences.
The regime includes vocational training courses in the construction industry and furniture craft, and production workshops involve recycling work and a laundry. The prison offers full-time, half-time and part-time education courses including basic skills, GCSEs, Level 3 Access to Higher Education, and Open University
courses.
The Healthcare Centre includes a nine bed in-patients' facility. The centre employs a full-time doctor and provides twenty-four hour nursing services. Out of hours medical cover is provided by an on-call service. Other facilities include a gymnasium and prison shop.
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 town of March
March, Cambridgeshire
March is a Fenland market town and civil parish in the Isle of Ely area of Cambridgeshire, England. March was the county town of the Isle of Ely, a separate administrative county between 1889 and 1965, and is now the administrative centre of Fenland District Council.The town was an important...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, England. 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
Whitemoor Prison was built on the site of an old railway marshalling yard, and first opened in 1991 by Norma MajorNorma Major
Dame Norma Christina Elizabeth Major, DBE , is the wife of Sir John Major, the former British Prime Minister.-Biography:...
. In September 1994 while under the govenorship of Brodie Clark
Brodie Clark
Robert Brodie Clark CBE is a British civil servant, and former head of the UK Border Force, a part of the UK Border Agency.-HM Prison Service:...
, six prisoners including Paul Magee
Paul Magee
Paul "Dingus" Magee is a former volunteer in the Belfast Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who escaped during his 1981 trial for killing a member of the Special Air Service in 1980...
and other IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
members, escaped from the prison's Special Secure Unit after smuggling a gun into the prison. All were later recaptured.
In April 2005, it was alleged that a wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
situated near Whitemoor Prison was being switched off in the early mornings because the flickering shadows it created annoyed inmates. The turbine had been halted because of possible security problems if prisoners became upset over the flickering shadows.
In August 2005, the prison was locked down for two days following an explosion in a wing. A full search was carried after the firework-like blast, however it caused no damage to the prison.
In June 2006, 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 staff at Whitemoor Prison for ignoring prisoners, and not responding to their queries and requests for help promptly enough. The report also criticised the prisons healthcare and pharmacy, as well stating that black and Asian prisoners felt subtle discrimination against them. However the report did praise Whitemoors specialist units - such as the dangerous and severe personality disorders wing - which were said to be performing well.
A further inspection report stated, in October 2008, that staff at Whitemoor Prison felt fear that Muslim inmates were attempting to radicalise others held at the jail. According to inspectors, officers tended to treat Muslim prisoners as extremists and potential security risks, even though only eight of them had been convicted of terrorist offences.
The prison today
Whitemoor houses around 500 of the most dangerous prisoners in the UK. The prison has a Dangerous Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) unit and a Close Supervision Centre (CSC). The centre is a prison inside the prison. Whitemoor does not accept any prisoners who are serving less than 4 years.The regime includes vocational training courses in the construction industry and furniture craft, and production workshops involve recycling work and a laundry. The prison offers full-time, half-time and part-time education courses including basic skills, GCSEs, Level 3 Access to Higher Education, and Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
courses.
The Healthcare Centre includes a nine bed in-patients' facility. The centre employs a full-time doctor and provides twenty-four hour nursing services. Out of hours medical cover is provided by an on-call service. Other facilities include a gymnasium and prison shop.
Current inmates
- David Ferguson
- Kenneth NoyeKenneth NoyeKenneth James Noye is a British criminal who was convicted of the 1996 murder of Stephen Cameron.Noye was involved in laundering the proceeds of the Brink's-MAT robbery in 1983–4. While he was being investigated for his part in the robbery, he stabbed to death police officer John Fordham who was...
- Michael SamsMichael SamsMichael Sams is an English rapist, kidnapper, extortionist and murderer who kidnapped Julie Dart on 9 July 1991 and Stephanie Slater on 22 January 1992....
- Jeremy BamberJeremy BamberJeremy Nevill Bamber was convicted in England in 1986 of murdering five members of his adoptive family—his father, mother, sister, and her six-year-old twin sons—at his parents' home at White House Farm, Tolleshunt D'Arcy, Essex, in the early hours of 7 August 1985...
- Eyad Iktilat
External links
- Ministry of Justice pages on Whitemoor
- Rose, David. "HMP Islam: Inside Whitemoor prison." Daily MailDaily MailThe Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. 18 October 2008.