New Hall (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison New Hall is a Closed Category
prison
for female adults, juveniles and young offenders. The prison is located in the village of Flockton
(near Wakefield
) in West Yorkshire
, England
. New Hall is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
.
who were soon due to be released, but in 1961 the prison became a Senior Detention Centre for male young offenders. It was during this time that, on some occasions, the 'Short, sharp shock
' regime was introduced. In 1987 the prison was assigned to serve a different population, when it was re-designated for a second time to become a women's prison.
This prison provides full and part time education courses for prisoners in areas such as business administration, food hygiene, literacy, numeracy and information technology
, NVQ Hairdressing, BTEC
and Art
. New Hall has workshops where inmates can be given experience of assembly work, light textile work, catering
and gardening. Employment and careers advice, Jobcentre Plus
and Connexions
are also available, The prison's governor is Marion Mahoney..
Prison security categories in the United Kingdom
There are four prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom used to classify every adult prisoner for the purposes of assigning them to a prison. The categories are based upon the severity of the crime and the risk posed should the person escape....
prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for female adults, juveniles and young offenders. The prison is located in the village of Flockton
Flockton
Flockton is a village in the Kirklees district of West Yorkshire, England halfway between Huddersfield and Wakefield with a population of 1,410 ....
(near Wakefield
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
) in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. New Hall is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...
.
History
In 1933, New Hall became the first prison to implement the then-experimental Open Prison system. This was seen as a potential method for dealing with the combined problems of the rising numbers of prisoners and the lack of proper employment for them. At first, the prison was populated by prisoners from HMP WakefieldWakefield (HM Prison)
HM Prison Wakefield is a Category A men's prison, located in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and is the largest maximum security prison in the United Kingdom...
who were soon due to be released, but in 1961 the prison became a Senior Detention Centre for male young offenders. It was during this time that, on some occasions, the 'Short, sharp shock
Short, sharp shock
The phrase "short, sharp shock" is a phrase meaning "punishment that is quick and severe." It was most famously used in Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera The Mikado, where it appears near the end of the Act I song, "I Am So Proud"....
' regime was introduced. In 1987 the prison was assigned to serve a different population, when it was re-designated for a second time to become a women's prison.
The prison today
Currently, New Hall is a closed female local prison which holds all categories of adult female prisoners. Beside this, it caters for young offenders and juveniles who are on Detention and Training Orders. Accommodation at the prison is mainly in cells. There is a mother & baby unit, health care centre, segregation unit and some dormitories.This prison provides full and part time education courses for prisoners in areas such as business administration, food hygiene, literacy, numeracy and information technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, NVQ Hairdressing, BTEC
Business And Technology Education Council (BTEC)
The Business and Technology Education Council is the British body which awards vocational qualifications. Such qualifications are commonly referred to as "BTECs"....
and Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
. New Hall has workshops where inmates can be given experience of assembly work, light textile work, catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
and gardening. Employment and careers advice, Jobcentre Plus
Jobcentre Plus
Jobcentre Plus was a government agency for working-age people in Great Britain. The agency was formed when the Employment Service, which operated Jobcentres, merged with the Benefits Agency, which ran social security offices, and was re-named Jobcentre Plus on 1 April 2002...
and Connexions
Connexions
Connexions is a global repository of educational content provided by Rice University. The entire collection is available free of charge, and students and learners alike can explore all the content they desire....
are also available, The prison's governor is Marion Mahoney..