Prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom

Last updated

In the United Kingdom, prisoners are divided into four categories of security. Each adult is assigned to a category according to their crime, sentence, the risk of escape, and violent tendencies. The categories are designated with the letters A to D, with A being the highest level of security, and D the lowest.

Contents

There are three different prison services in the United Kingdom, and separate services for the three Crown Dependencies. His Majesty's Prison Service manages prisons in England and Wales, and also serves as the National Offender Management Service for England and Wales. Prisons in Scotland are managed by the Scottish Prison Service and prisons in Northern Ireland are managed by the Northern Ireland Prison Service. The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands have their own prison administrations.

Prisoner categories in England and Wales

Prisons in England and Wales are divided into several categories relating to the age, gender and security classification of the prisoners it holds. [1]

Male adult prisoners

Male adult prisoners (those aged 18 or over) are given a security categorisation soon after they enter prison. These categories are based on a combination of the type of crime committed, the length of sentence, the likelihood of escape, and the danger to the public if they were to escape. The four categories are: [1]

Prison typeCategoryPrison description
Closed prisonA
(high security)
Those whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or national security, thus necessitating maximum security conditions. Offences that may result in consideration for category A or restricted status include [attempted] murder, manslaughter, [attempted] rape, sexual assault, armed robbery, wounding with intent, kidnapping, importing or supplying class A controlled drugs, possessing or supplying explosives, offences connected with terrorism and offences under the Official Secrets Act. [2]
BThose who do not require maximum security, but for whom escape still needs to be made very difficult.
CThose who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who are unlikely to try to escape.
Open prison DThose who can be reasonably trusted not to try to escape, and are given the privilege of an open prison. Prisoners at category D prisons, are, subject to approval, given ROTL (release on temporary licence) to work in the community or to go on "home leave" once they have passed their FLED (full licence eligibility dates), which is usually a quarter of the way through the sentence.

Category A, B and C prisons are called closed prisons, whereas category D prisons are called open prisons.

Category A prisoners are further divided into standard risk, high risk and exceptional risk, based on their likelihood of escaping. [3]

Men on remand are held in category B conditions with the exception of some of those who are held to be tried on (very) serious offences. These men are held in "provisional category A" conditions.

Escape list prisoners

Prisoners who have made active attempts to escape from custody are placed on the holding prison's escape list. These prisoners (sometimes referred to as "E men" or "E list men") are required to wear distinctive, brightly coloured clothing when being moved both inside and outside of the prison and are handcuffed. In addition they are required to change cells frequently and to have their clothes and some of their personal property removed from their cell before being locked in for the night.

Female adult prisoners

Women are also classified into four categories. These categories are: [1]

Remand prisoners are always held in closed prisons.

Children

When children under 18 are sentenced or remanded in custody, they may be sent to one of three types of establishment depending on their needs, age, vulnerability and the nature of the offence they have been accused or convicted of:

Prisoner categories in Scotland

Since 2002, in Scotland, prisoners have been assigned to one of three categories: [4]

Prisoner categories in Northern Ireland

Prisoners (adult and young, male and female) are classified in a similar way to the English/Welsh system: [5]

CategoryPrison description
APrisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public, the police or the security of the state
BPrisoners for whom maximum security is not necessary, but for whom escape must be made very difficult
CPrisoners who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who do not have the resources or will to make a determined escape attempt
DPrisoners who can reasonably be trusted in open conditions. However, there are at present no open prisons in Northern Ireland.
U Remand, awaiting trial (also known as "hold for court") or awaiting sentence prisoners are Unclassified (U), although they are placed in Category A or B conditions.

See also

Related Research Articles

The United Kingdom has three distinct legal systems with a separate prison system in each: one for both England and Wales, one for Scotland, and one for Northern Ireland. As of June 2023, the United Kingdom has the highest per-capita incarceration rate in Western Europe, at 159 people per 100,000 in England and Wales; 162 people per 100,000 in Scotland; 97 people per 100,000 in Northern Ireland; and the largest prison population in Western Europe. The average cost per prison place was £46,696 in England and Wales (2021/22), £46,892 in Scotland (2021/22), and £47,927 in Northern Ireland (2022/23).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">His Majesty's Prison Service</span> Government service managing most of the prisons within England and Wales

His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service, which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Aylesbury</span> Prison in Aylesbury, England

His Majesty's Prison Aylesbury is a category C training prison situated in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located on the north side of the town centre, on Bierton Road and is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.

His Majesty's Young Offenders Institution are youth detention centres for offenders between ages 15 to 21 in the United Kingdom. These offenders will have received a custodial sentence following criminal offence convictions or may be being held on remand awaiting trial on pending charges.

A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of the military found guilty of a serious crime. There are two types: penal and confinement-oriented, where captured enemy combatants are confined for military reasons until hostilities cease. Most militaries have some sort of military police unit operating at the divisional level or below to perform many of the same functions as civilian police, from traffic-control to the arrest of violent offenders and the supervision of detainees and prisoners of war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Bronzefield</span> Female prison in Surrey, England

HMP Bronzefield is an adult and young offender female prison located on the outskirts of Ashford in Surrey, England. Bronzefield is the only purpose-built private prison solely for women in the UK, and is the largest female prison in Europe. The prison is operated by Sodexo Justice Services.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Prison Service</span> Executive agency

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an executive agency of the Scottish Government tasked with managing prisons and Young Offender Institutions.

HMP & YOI Cornton Vale was a women's prison and young offenders institution in Stirling, Scotland operated by the Scottish Prison Service. The facility comprised a total of 217 cells in its 5 houses. It accepted solely convicted women and girls from 1975 until 1978. In 1978 Parliament passed the necessary legislation to allow females to be held there on remand. Cornton Vale houses female adults and young offenders in Scotland, alongside HMP Grampian, HMP Edinburgh and HMP Polmont. In April 1999, the separation of adults and young offenders was attained. Lady Martha Bruce was the first Governor. The current Governor at Cornton Vale is Paula Arnold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Ireland Prison Service</span> Government service managing prisons within Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Prison Service is the agency charged with managing prisons in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Bristol</span> Prison in Bristol, England

HMP Bristol is a Category B men's prison, located in the Horfield area of Bristol. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Styal</span> Womens prison in Styal, England

HM Prison Styal is a Closed Category prison for female adults and young offenders in Styal, Cheshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Bullingdon</span> Prison in Oxfordshire, England

HM Prison and Young Offenders Institute Bullingdon is a prison in Oxfordshire, England. It is a public sector prison operated by HM Prison and Probation Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Chelmsford</span> Prison in Essex, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Littlehey</span> Prison in Cambridgeshire, England

HM Prison Littlehey is a Category C male prison in the village of Perry near Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England. Littlehey Prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. The Prison only holds those that have been convicted of a sexual offence.

HM Prison Perth is a prison in Perth, Scotland, which houses short-term adult male prisoners. It was originally constructed to hold French prisoners captured during the Napoleonic Wars, and is the oldest prison in Scotland still in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HM Prison Rochester</span>

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 Shotts is a prison near Shotts, North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is a prison holding male prisoners with maximum security classification. Shotts exclusively holds prisoners serving a term of 5 years or longer, with some prisoners being transferred from other prisons due to a need for a more secure environment. The original prison was opened in 1978 with a design capacity of 528 inmates; the prison was completely rebuilt and new facilities opened in 2012, with a capacity of 538 adult male prisoners.

HMP & YOI Grampian is a high security prison in Peterhead, Scotland. It is the only such facility in the northeast of the country, having replaced the former HMPs in Aberdeen and Peterhead in 2014. It is the newest jail in Scotland and amongst the newest in the United Kingdom. It has a design capacity of around 560 inmates.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Prison Walkthrough - Questions". Understanding your sentence. Criminal Justice System. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  2. Category A Function (PDF). National offender Management Service (Report). 2 March 2015. p. 6. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
  3. "Category A Prisoners:Reviews of Security Category". Prison Service Instruction 03/2010. HM Prison Service. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original (DOC) on 25 August 2011.
  4. "What is the Prison Supervision S.gov.uk//Default.aspx?DocumentID=ac2a1c7b-19a6-4cfd-bb9f-31e7ada281f2". Scottish Prison Service. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011.{{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
  5. Dickson, Brice; Gormally, Brian (26 February 2015). Human Rights in Northern Ireland: The Committee on the Administration of Justice Handbook. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 179. ISBN   978-1-78225-505-5.