| Prison Name: | HMP Long Lartin |
| Location: | South Littleton, Worcestershire |
| Classification: | Adult Male/Category A |
| Population: | 500 |
| Populationdate: | January 2022 |
| Opened: | 1971 |
| Managed By: | HM Prison Services |
| Governor: | Steve Cross |
HM Prison Long Lartin is a Category A men's prison, located in the village of South Littleton (near Evesham) in the Wychavon district in Worcestershire, England. It is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
Long Lartin was opened as a Category C training prison in 1971, with additional security features and systems being added in 1972 to enable it to operate as a dispersal prison.
In April 1990, inmates at Long Lartin Prison attempted a mass breakout and, after officers foiled their escape bid, about 30 prisoners barricaded themselves on a landing.[1] As a consequence of this and other security breaches, such as when inmate Gareth Connett was suspected of making a handgun in the metal workshop in August 1992, prison officers were drafted in from all around the country for a full stand down search in which many homemade weapons were found.
The establishment was further upgraded between 1995–97 to a maximum security prison.
In August 1998, the then Governor of Long Lartin, Jim Mullen claimed that mentally ill inmates at the prison faced unacceptable delays before being transferred to appropriate secure hospital accommodation. Mullen stated that up to 20 of his 379 inmates should have been transferred, after a report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons called for action to speed up the movement of prisoners in need of specialist care.[2]
A supermax segregation unit (the biggest in Europe) comprising a new residential wing called Perrie Wing was opened at Long Lartin in June 1999, designed to hold the most violent and dangerous offenders and substantially increasing capacity.
A November 2003 inspection report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons stated that the prison was generally safe and offered good staff-prisoner relations and reoffending work. However the report also cited serious deficiencies in areas such as race relations, the overloaded and understaffed drug treatment team, and too many prisoners being locked up instead of in work.[3]
, Long Lartin is a 622 capacity Category A prisoner jail.
There are eight main residential units. Two other residential units were demolished and the construction of a replacement purpose built two wing 180 house block has been completed. There have been two murders at the prison since 2014.
On the evening of 11 October 2017, during a disturbance on E wing when 81 prisoners attacked staff with pool balls, staff had to retreat. Ten Tornado teams, prison officers equipped and trained to deal with riots, resolved the disorder. At the time, two-thirds of inmates were serving life sentences, and in common with other prisons Long Lartin had had staffing cuts of about 20%.[4] [5]
In January 2018, inspectors considered the prison stable and well controlled. In June 2018 there was a report that the prison's governor needed hospital treatment and spent weeks off work after a prisoner had attacked her. On 30 September 2018 a disturbance broke out and six prison officers were injured, of whom three had head injuries, two had suspected broken jaws and one had a fractured arm, according to the Prison Officers' Association. The disorder ended at around 17:30, seven prisoners were put into isolation and will be moved to other prisons.[6] [7]
In September 2019 a disturbance occurred involving ten prisoners who temporarily took over a wing. One prison officer needed hospital treatment and specialist riot-trained prison officers were sent in.[8]
Martin Evans of The Daily Telegraph described Long Lartin as one of the UK's "top security jails", and that the prisoners included "some of Britain's most notorious".[9]