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| Location | Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°31′51″N3°33′39″W / 51.53083°N 3.56083°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Category B Adult Males/Young Offenders/Juveniles |
| Capacity | 1652 (June 2016) |
| Opened | 1997 |
| Managed by | G4S |
| Director | Will Styles |
HM Prison Parc (Welsh: Carchar Parc EF) is a Category B men's private prison and Young Offenders Institution in Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan, Wales. It is operated by G4S, and is the only privately operated prison in Wales.
The site was previously occupied by Parc Hospital, a psychiatric hospital. [1] Parc Prison was developed via a Private Finance Initiative contract in January 1996 [2] and built by Costain Group at a cost of £82 million, opening in November 1997. [3] Alongside HMP Altcourse, Parc was one of the first UK prisons to be financed, designed and owned by the private sector. [4] When it first opened, Parc Prison had around 800 prisoners, accommodated in two-bed cells across four blocks. [5]
From its opening, Parc Prison was beset with problems. Failures in the security technology, anti-English racism from Welsh inmates, and a high number of suicides were highlighted as concerns by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in a 1999 report. [6] However, in March 2001, a report from the Chief Inspector noted a major improvement. [7]
In August 2004, an Independent Monitoring Board report stated that Parc Prison was the worst-performing of all ten privately run prisons in Wales and England. The report criticised the lack of separate healthcare facilities for juveniles, the inadequate level of dental provision, and poor staff morale. [8]
In January 2013, the Ministry of Justice announced that an additional houseblock would be constructed. [9]
In 2024, the governance of the prison came under scrutiny again following a series of deaths in a short period of time. Ten inmates died within 3 months, prompting protests outside the prison and calls for the government to take over the running of Parc from G4S. [10]
Parc has ten wings consisting of eight adult and two YPU wings, holding Remand and Sentenced Category B Adult males, juveniles and young offenders. Accommodation is a mix of single and double cells.[ citation needed ] All cells are equipped with sanitation, natural and forced ventilation, and electrics. All wings are equipped with hot-water boilers, PIN telephones, pool and table tennis tables, showers, laundry facilities, and association areas. Other facilities at the prison include a library, gym, fitness room, and a multi-faith chaplaincy. The prison's visits hall has a canteen and crèche.[ citation needed ]
Education is provided by an in-house education department. A range of subjects are offered including English, maths, information technology, art, music, hospitality, languages and a range of vocational qualifications. Qualifications up to and including Open University courses are available. The prison's industries complex comprises nine workshops including carpentry, metalwork, graphic design and print, and industrial cleaning. All other workshops are dedicated to manufacturing contracts with local companies.[ citation needed ]
G4S is a British multinational private security company headquartered in London, England. The company was set up in July 2004 when London-based Securicor amalgamated with Danish firm Group 4 Falck. The company offers a range of services, including the supply of security personnel, monitoring equipment, response units and secure prisoner transportation. G4S also works with governments overseas to deliver security services.
A private prison, or for-profit prison, is a place where people are imprisoned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit prisoners and then pay a per diem or monthly rate, either for each prisoner in the facility, or for each place available, whether occupied or not. Such contracts may be for the operation only of a facility, or for design, construction and operation.
HM Prison Wandsworth is a Category B men's prison at Wandsworth in the London Borough of Wandsworth, South West London, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service and is one of the largest prisons in the UK.
HM Prison Forest Bank is a Category B men's private prison, in the Agecroft area of Pendlebury in Salford, England. The prison is operated by Sodexo Justice Services.
HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B men's prison in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England, operated by HM Prison and Probation Service.
HMP & YOI Prison Brinsford is an adult male Category B & C prison and Young Offenders Institution (YOI), located in the village of Featherstone, in Staffordshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
Ian David Karslake Watkins is a Welsh former musician who was best known the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Lostprophets. His career ended after he was sentenced to 29 years' imprisonment in 2013 for multiple sex offences, including the sexual assault of young children and infants, a sentence later increased by ten months for having a mobile phone in prison. His bandmates disbanded Lostprophets shortly after his conviction and formed No Devotion with American singer Geoff Rickly.
HM Prison Onley is a Category C men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. The prison is named after the lost village of Onley, which is located next to the prison.
HM Prison Altcourse is a Category B men's private prison and Young Offender Institution in the Fazakerley area of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. The prison is operated by Sodexo, which took over from G4S in 2023.
HM Prison Lancaster Farms is a category C male prison, located on the outskirts of Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is part of the HMP North Lancashire and Cumbria Estate.
HM Prison Elmley is a local Category B/C men's prison, located close to the village of Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. The term 'local' means that this prison holds people on remand to the local courts. Elmley once formed part of the Sheppey prisons cluster, which included HMP Standford Hill and HMP Swaleside; it is now a stand-alone establishment. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Chelmsford is a Category B men's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in Chelmsford, Essex, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Eastwood Park is a women's closed category prison, located in the village of Falfield in South Gloucestershire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Prescoed is a Category D men's open prison, located in Coed-y-paen, three miles from Usk in Monmouthshire, Wales. Prescoed is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and acts as a satellite prison of the nearby HMP Usk.
HM Prison Risley is a category C men's prison, located in the Risley area of Warrington, Cheshire, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Rochester is a male Young Offenders Institution, founded in 1874, and located in the Borstal area of Rochester in Kent, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is located next to HMP Cookham Wood.
HM Prison Rye Hill is a Category B men's private prison, operated by G4S. Rye Hill has exclusively housed sex offenders since 2014. The prison is next to HMP Onley and Rainsbrook Secure Training Centre, south of Rugby, in the parish of Barby, Northamptonshire, England. However, the postal address of the prison is Willoughby, Warwickshire; therefore, most sources list the prison as in Willoughby, Warwickshire.
The prisons in Wales are run by His Majesty's Prison Service, which is in turn a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) which is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice responsible for the correctional services in England and Wales. The objectives of prison confinement in Wales is threefold: to "hold prisoners securely", to "reduce the risk of prisoners re-offending" and to "provide safe and well-ordered establishments in which we treat prisoners humanely, decently and lawfully".
HM Prison Oakwood is a Category C prison in Featherstone, Staffordshire, England. First opened in April 2012, the prison is operated by G4S and was primed to be in full operation by autumn 2012. Originally called Featherstone 2 and designed to be a titan prison, it was downsized to hold up to 1,605 prisoners with construction starting in August 2009. It was built in a modular fashion, the first time this had been done in the UK.
G4S describes itself as "the world's leading provider of security solutions" and provides security services for over 40 embassies around the world, work as stewards at football stadiums and runs over six British prisons, operates prisoner tagging schemes, assists within the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in the United Kingdom, and provides administrative roles to the health and education sectors. The company operates as a subsidiary of an American security services provider Allied Universal since April 2021.
