| Prison Name: | HMP Peterborough |
| Location: | Peterborough, Cambridgeshire |
| Classification: | Category B/Adults & Young Offenders |
| Capacity: | 840 (August 2008) |
| Opened: | 2005 |
| Managed By: | Sodexo Justice Services |
| Director: | Ian Whiteside [1] |
HM Prison Peterborough is a Category B private prison for men, and a closed prison for women and female young offenders, located in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The prison is operated by Sodexo Justice Services, and is the only dual purpose-built prison holding males and females in the United Kingdom. The prison, which has a population of 320 inmates, comprises four large wings, each with a separate housing arrangement for female detainees and male detainees. It is managed by the Newton Secure Training Centre (NSTC), and the associated training centre, which operates under Sodexo Services, comprises 26 housing units, ranging from 12-storey purpose built units to 10-storey semiprivate accommodation units.
HMP Peterborough was built on the site of the former Baker Perkins engineering works. It opened in 2005, despite protests from local residents. The Prison Service stated that Peterborough, as a 'mixed-use' prison, would become a blueprint for future prisons.[2] The prison was involved in controversy when it advertised for two holistic therapists to offer inmates reflexology, aromatherapy and Indian head massages. The MP for Peterborough, Stewart Jackson accused the prison of pampering inmates and sending out the wrong message to hard-working families.[3]
In January 2008, a national table of prisons compiled by the Prison Service revealed that the prison had performed worst out of 132 prisons and prison clusters, with low marks for reducing re-offending, organisational effectiveness and decency.[4] A month later, women prisoners complained that the food served at the jail was too high in calories, and made them put on weight. Officials at the prison claimed that healthy options were always available.[5]
In January 2013, the Ministry of Justice announced that an additional houseblock will be constructed at the prison, increasing its capacity.[6]
On 13 April 2018, a Royal Air Force bomb disposal team deployed a bomb disposal robot to interact with a silver Volkswagen Golf at the prison.[7] Authorities later stated they had been responding to a reported bomb but it proved to be a hoax.[8]