HM Prison Durham explained

Prison Name:HMP Durham
Location:Durham, County Durham
Classification:Adult Male/Category B
Capacity:980 as of 2022[1]
Population:980
Populationdate:September 2022
Opened:19th century
Managed By:HM Prison Services
Governor:Tim Healy

HM Prison Durham is a Georgian era reception Category B men's prison, located in the Elvet area of Durham in County Durham, England. Built in 1819, the prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Its women prisoners were all moved out to other prisons in 2005 due to overcrowding and suicides.

History

The Northgate was established in Saddler Street around 1072.[2] [3] It was rebuilt by Bishop Thomas Langley in the early 15th century to provide custodial facilities, which became known as the Northgate Prison or the County Gaol, and was enlarged in 1773.[4] There was also a House of Correction, also known as the Bridewell, established on the north side of Elvet Bridge in 1634.[5]

In the early 19th century, the two institutions were consolidated at the current site, just south of the new Durham Courthouse: the new prison, consisting of some 600 cells, opened in 1819. The prison's C wing was built in 1850.[6]

In 1832, protests over working conditions in the South Shields workhouse were supported by miners' strikes. Soldiers were sent to evict striking miners from their pubs. One miner, William Jobling, was convicted of the murder of a local magistrate near Jarrow Slake. He was hanged amid heightened security of 50 mounted Hussars and 50 infantrymen to protect the gallows. His body was gibbeted after death. Between 1869 and 1958, 95 judicial executions took place on the gallows at Durham prison or the court house. On 17 December 1958, the final execution at Durham took place when Private Brian Chandler (aged 20) was hanged for the murder of Martha Dodd in the course of theft. Chandler was a soldier based at Catterick camp, and had beaten the 83-year-old widow to death with a hammer.[7] [8] [9]

Irish Republicans were imprisoned in Durham in 1918.[10]

During the late 1960s and 1970s the prison became a study project for Stan Cohen and Laurie Taylor, which led to their publication of three books, namely Psychological Survival: The Experience of Long-term Imprisonment (1972),[11] Escape Attempts (1976) and Prison Secrets (1978). Cohen additionally published Visions of Social Control: Crime, Punishment and Classification (1985).

In 1990 19-year-old-prisoner Darren Brook was murdered by another prisoner.[12]

In 2001, Durham (which was a Category A prison for men and women at the time) was praised by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for its progressive regime, integration of inmates and falling levels of violence.[13] However, in 2003 it was revealed that Durham had the highest prison suicide rate in England[14] and, in 2004, a report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons criticised it for being severely overcrowded and the lack of education and work opportunities.[15] The following year, the female high-security wing with 120 prisoners was discontinued and the prisoners transferred elsewhere after HM Inspectorate of Prisons reports concluded, following several suicides, that it was unsuitable for housing female prisoners.[16]

In 2011 it was announced that, along with several other prisons, HMP Durham would be put up for market testing as part of a Ministry of Justice plan to make savings of almost 25%.[17]

A 2014 report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that a third of inmates tested positive for drug use, a rate almost twice as high as similar prisons. Rates of violence were also higher than expected which indicated that monitoring should be improved. The prison was, however, praised for the quality of work activity and learning available to prisoners.[18]

In 2018 the Channel 4 documentary Prison was filmed over a 7 month period in the jail.[19]

As of 2022, Durham is a Reception prison[20] for remand adult/ young male prisoners, primarily serving the courts of County Durham, Tyne and Wear, Teesside and Cumbria. It is divided into seven wingspans secure units, a segregation section and a healthcare section.[20] The prison offers part-time education to all inmates, including courses on data input, bricklaying, woodwork, painting and decorating, waste management and gardening.[21]

Notable inmates

Current

Former

Film and TV links

External links

Notes and References

  1. Ministry of Justice Durham Prison information Prison finder, 5 March 2012, retrieved 30 September 2015
  2. Web site: Northgate Prison, Durham. British Library. 11 March 2023.
  3. Web site: The Great North Gate. Durham World Heritage Site. 11 March 2023.
  4. Web site: The History of Durham Prison . Durham University. 11 March 2023.
  5. Web site: What was it like to be a prisoner?. Durham University. 11 March 2023.
  6. Web site: DURHAM PRISON C WING, City of Durham - 1310524 | Historic England.
  7. Web site: Durham prison . Capitalpunishmentuk.org . n.d. . 2013-04-12.
  8. Web site: Crime and Punishment in Durham: The History of Durham Prison . Dur.ac.uk . 2013-04-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121015144955/http://www.dur.ac.uk/4schools/Crime/Durhamprison4.htm . 2012-10-15 .
  9. Web site: Published on 12/06/2008 10:49 . 1958: Last man hanged - News . Sunderland Echo . 1958-12-17 . 2013-04-12.
  10. Web site: Irish Republicans, Durham Prison, England, August 1918.
  11. Book: Psychological Survival: The Experience of Long-term Imprisonment. 9780140216578. Cohen. Stanley. Taylor. Laurie. 1972.
  12. Web site: Durham Prison - Hansard - UK Parliament.
  13. News: Progressive prison wins praise . BBC News . 2001-09-18 . 2010-05-01.
  14. News: Durham Prison tops suicide table . BBC News . 2003-01-12 . 2010-05-01.
  15. News: Report highlights overcrowding . BBC News . 2004-01-13 . 2010-05-01.
  16. News: Call to move 'She Wing' prisoners . BBC News . 2005-09-05 . 2010-05-01. She Wing has seen six suicides in 18 months among its female inmate population of 100..
  17. News: Two prisons to shut in efficiency bid, MoJ says . BBC News . 2011-07-13.
  18. Mike Kelly Durham Prison criticised for violence and drug taking among inmates The Journal, 20 May 2014
  19. Web site: Prison | Channel 4.
  20. Web site: Durham Prison.
  21. Web site: It has housed Rose West, Myra Hindley and Ronnie Kray - but what is Durham Prison really like?.
  22. News: The brutal murder of Greenhithe teenager Claire Tiltman and why it took 21 years to bring her killer to justice . 10 July 2022 . Kent Online . 9 September 2018.
  23. Web site: Dad is campaigning to ensure his family's killer is not released . Nia . Dalton . Carl . Eve . 14 April 2024 . Cornwall Live . 18 August 2024.
  24. http://saoirse32.blogsome.com/2007/12/21/vintage-stuff-from-english-jails-ella-odwyer-and-martina-anderson-recall-christmas-and-other-happy-times-as-republican-pows/ Irish Republican Female Prisons Account - Durham Prison
  25. Web site: Durham Prison History Including Mary Anne Cotton . https://web.archive.org/web/20080105154125/http://www.richard.clark32.btinternet.co.uk/durham.html . 2008-01-05 . dead .
  26. Web site: Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster . House of Commons Hansard Debates for 17 Jan 2000 (pt 35) . Publications.parliament.uk . 2015-10-09.
  27. Web site: From gangsters to moors murderers: Meet HMP Durham's most notorious inmates. 21 September 2020.
  28. News: Turbulent day at Climbié inquiry. 8 January 2002.
  29. News: Sex with 'Chucky' killer; Prison boss resigns over his secret affair. . 7 July 2022. The Free Library . 28 January 1996.
  30. News: Pettifor . Tom . Smith . Louie . EXCLUSIVE: Rikki Neave's mum shared jail with killer Myra Hindley who said 'you're not a murderer' . 6 July 2022 . Daily Mirror . 22 April 2022.
  31. Web site: 24 Hours in Police Custody: The Murder of Rikki Neave . All4.
  32. Web site: Innocent . Guardian Newspaper: Guildford Four Ten Years On . Innocent.org.uk . 2013-04-12 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130318081543/http://innocent.org.uk/cases/guildford4/ . 2013-03-18 .
  33. News: Mother admits killing third baby . 29 April 2023 . BBC News . 22 April 2004.
  34. News: Hughes . Marcos . The brutal killing of a pensioner by two teenage girls who stabbed and scalped her . 6 July 2022 . Wales Online . 30 September 2018.
  35. Web site: 'The darkest hour is before the dawn' . The Independent . 3 June 1996 . 22 August 2023.
  36. Ambushed: My Story - Judith Ward, Vermilion Books, December 1995
  37. Web site: Crime and Punishment in Durham: The History of Durham Prison . . 2008-02-19 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070711201350/http://www.dur.ac.uk/4schools/Crime/Durhamprison1.htm . 11 July 2007 .
  38. News: Rose West's prison unit to close. BBC News. 2008-02-19. 2004-05-27.
  39. Web site: The Hood, The Bad and the Ugly - Scotsman Newspaper . News.scotsman.com . 2013-04-12.
  40. Web site: Former Newcastle footballer Andy Ferrell talks about losing it all and getting back on track. 27 May 2015 . Chronicle Live.
  41. Web site: New book throws up surprise twists in case of Kieran Kelly, Irishman reputed to have killed 31 people.
  42. News: Police were warned of Raoul Moat's threat to harm ex-girlfriend . London . The Guardian . Helen . Carter . Matthew . Weaver . 2010-07-05.
  43. McVicar by Himself first published by Hutchinson's in 1974
  44. "Straffen moved", The Times, 23 May 1968, p. 1
  45. Web site: Kennedy . Rob . Finnegan . Sophie . 2022-06-20 . Nikki Allan murder accused in court: Man pleads not guilty . 2023-05-12 . ChronicleLive . en.
  46. Web site: Durham prison. Capital Punishment UK.
  47. Book: Images of Incarceration: Representations of Prison in Film and Television Drama. 9781904380085. Wilson. David. O'Sullivan. Sean. 2004.

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