HM Prison Durham

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 continues to be operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service. Women prisoners were moved in 2005 due to overcrowding and suicides.

"Durham prison" redirects here. For the high security prison on the outskirts of Durham, see HM Prison Frankland.

HMP Durham
Durham Prison viewed from the main tower of the cathedral
LocationDurham, County Durham
Security classAdult Male/Category B
Capacity996 as of 8 March 2011[1]
Population996 (as of October 2006)
Opened19th century
Managed byHM Prison Services
GovernorPhil Husband
WebsiteDurham at justice.gov.uk

History

Durham Prison was built in 1810, consisting of some 600 cells and took its first prisoners in 1819.[2] It is adjacent to Durham's Crown Courts. The prison has held a variety of different categories of prisoners, both male and female over the course of its history. Between 1869 and 1958, 95 judicial executions took place on the gallows at Durham prison or the court house.[2] In 1832, protests over working conditions in the South Shields workhouse were supported by miner strikes. Soldiers were sent to evict striking miners from their pubs. One miner 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.[2]

On 17 December 1958, the final execution took place when Private Brian Chandler (aged 20) was hanged for the murder of Martha Dodd during the course of theft. Chandler was a soldier, based at Catterick camp, who beat 83-year-old Dodd to death with a hammer.[2][3][4]

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), Escape Attempts (1976) and Prison Secrets (1978). Cohen additionally published Visions of Social Control: Crime, Punishment and Classification (1985).

Durham (which was a Category A prison for men and women at the time) was praised in 2001 by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons for its progressive regime, integration of inmates and falling levels of violence.[5] However, in 2003 it was revealed that Durham had the highest suicide rate of all prisons in England.[6]

In 2004 a report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons criticised Durham for being severely overcrowded. The report highlighted the lack of education and work opportunities for inmates at the prison.[7]

In 2005 Durham's 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.[8]

On 13 July 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 budget plan to make savings of almost 25%.[9]

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 would be expected in 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.[10]

The prison today

Durham is currently a Reception prison[11] for remand adult/ young male prisoners, primarily serving the courts of County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Teesside. It is divided into seven wingspans secure units, plus a segregation section and healthcare section.[11] The prison offers part-time education to all inmates, including courses on data input, bricklaying, woodwork, painting and decorating, waste management and gardening.

Notable former inmates
  • The 1980 British film McVicar starring Roger Daltrey is partially set in Durham Prison.[25]
  • The Prison is featured in Longford (2006) - Myra Hindley as an inmate

References
  1. Ministry of Justice Durham Prison information Prison finder, 5 March 2012, retrieved 30 September 2015
  2. "Durham prison". Capitalpunishmentuk.org. n.d. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  3. "Crime and Punishment in Durham: The History of Durham Prison". Dur.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 15 October 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  4. Published on 12/06/2008 10:49 (17 December 1958). "1958: Last man hanged - News". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  5. "Progressive prison wins praise". BBC News. 18 September 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  6. "Durham Prison tops suicide table". BBC News. 12 January 2003. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  7. "Report highlights overcrowding". BBC News. 13 January 2004. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  8. "Call to move 'She Wing' prisoners". BBC News. 5 September 2005. Retrieved 1 May 2010. She Wing has seen six suicides in 18 months among its female inmate population of 100.
  9. "Two prisons to shut in efficiency bid, MoJ says". BBC News. 13 July 2011.
  10. Mike Kelly Durham Prison criticised for violence and drug taking among inmates The Journal, 20 May 2014
  11. http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/durham
  12. Irish Republican Female Prisons Account - Durham Prison Blogsome.com 2007/12/21 Archived 5 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Durham Prison History Including Mary Anne Cotton". Archived from the original on 5 January 2008.
  14. Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 17 Jan 2000 (pt 35)". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2015.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/who-served-time-hmp-durham-13039314
  16. Innocent. "Guardian Newspaper: Guildford Four Ten Years On". Innocent.org.uk. Archived from the original on 18 March 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  17. Ambushed: My Story - Judith Ward, Vermilion Books, December 1995
  18. "Crime and Punishment in Durham: The History of Durham Prison". Durham University. Archived from the original on 11 July 2007. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  19. "Rose West's prison unit to close". BBC News. 27 May 2004. Retrieved 19 February 2008.
  20. "The Hood, The Bad and the Ugly - Scotsman Newspaper". News.scotsman.com. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  21. https://www.irishpost.com/news/new-book-throws-surprise-twists-case-kieran-kelly-irishman-reputed-killed-31-people-167431
  22. Carter, Helen; Weaver, Matthew (5 July 2010). "Police were warned of Raoul Moat's threat to harm ex-girlfriend". The Guardian. London.
  23. McVicar by Himself first published by Hutchinson's in 1974
  24. "Straffen moved", The Times, 23 May 1968, p. 1
  25. Wilson, David; O'Sullivan, Sean (2004). Images of Incarceration: Representations of Prison in Film and Television Drama. ISBN 9781904380085.

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