Sudbury (HM Prison)
Encyclopedia
HM Prison Sudbury is a Category D
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....

 men's 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...

, located in the village of Sudbury
Sudbury, Derbyshire
Sudbury is a village and civil parish in Derbyshire, England, located approximately to the south of Ashbourne. It is part of the Derbyshire Dales district. The £0.5m A50 bypass opened in 1972...

 in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

, 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...

. The prison 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

Sudbury was originally constructed as a hospital for the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 for the D-Day landings. In 1948, the old hospital site was adapted for use as a prison. Original single storey accommodation from the hospital still houses prisoners today, with newer additional single storey buildings also used. In 2003, a new Modular Temporary Unit was constructed at the site.

In December 2003, it emerged that 350 prisoners had absconded from Sudbury in five years. Management at the prison stated that this was a consequence of the prison having more inmates.

In June 2005, an inspection report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales...

 praised Sudbury Prison. The report stated that Sudbury provided a safe and well-ordered environment for prisoners and staff. However the report called for certain facilities to be improved at the prison, particularly for elderly and disabled prisoners.

A further inspection report in September 2007, again praised Sudbury prison, despite the fact that more than 40 prisoners had absconded from the jail since January 2007. The report however did call for better healthcare services at the prison.

The prison today

Sudbury is a Category D open prison
Open prison
An open prison is an informal description applied to any penal establishment in which the prisoners are trusted to serve their sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and so do not need to be locked up in prison cells...

 for adult males. Accommodation at the prison comprises a mixture of single and double occupancy rooms.

Full-time and part-time education as well as evening classes are offered to inmates at HMP Sudbury. Workshops and training courses include bricklaying, painting & decorating, industrial cleaning, farms and gardens, 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 site maintenance.

A listener scheme for prisoners who may be at risk from suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

 or self harm is in operation, as well as an anti-bullying committee. There is a voluntary drug testing unit and a drug support group offering counselling and support for inmates with drug problems

Notable former inmates

  • Lee Hughes
    Lee Hughes
    Lee Hughes is an English Footballer who plays for Notts County as a striker.-Non-League and West Bromwich Albion:On leaving Bristnall Hall High School, Oldbury in 1992 Hughes started playing semi-professionally in non-League football with Kidderminster Harriers in the Football Conference, as well...

    , former West Bromwich Albion
    West Bromwich Albion F.C.
    West Bromwich Albion Football Club, also known as West Brom, The Baggies, The Throstles, Albion or WBA, are an English Premier League association football club based in West Bromwich in the West Midlands...

    striker.

External links

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