HMP Bedford is a
Category B men's
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
, located in the
Harpur
Harpur is an electoral ward and area within the town of Bedford, England.
The boundaries of Harpur are approximately Manton Lane to the north, De Parys Avenue to the east, Bromham Road to the south, with the Midland Main Line railway line to t ...
area of
Bedford
Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The prison is operated by
His Majesty's Prison Service
His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wale ...
.
History
The prison has been on its current site since 1801 and was designed by the architect
John Wing (1756-1826), who also designed the Bedford town bridge, the Infirmary and the House of Industry. The previous site was on the corner of the High Street and Silver Street, then known as Gaol Lane. The location is marked with a plaque in the pavement due to its connection with
John Bunyan
John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...
, being the probable place where he wrote
The Pilgrim's Progress
''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of ...
. Wing's original building included "...a turnkey's lodge, cells for debtors, felons and house of correction prisoners, hot and cold baths and an oven to purify infected clothing. The silence system was enforced with great severity, wooden partitions being placed between any two prisoners at work on the treadmill. Separate exercise was allowed in the yards, and meals were taken in the cells." The prison has been twice expanded, in 1849 and 1990.
In December 2009, the prison's own
Independent Monitoring Board issued a report citing concerns over the high number of prisoners serving
life sentences
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...
being held at Bedford. The report praised mental healthcare provision and highlighted staff morale, prisoners' property and the visits booking line of the prison. It also praised levels of respect between staff and inmates at the jail, along with the
prison's food provision and hygiene standards.
In June 2010, Donna Stanton, aged 27, a female prison officer from Bedford, was convicted after it emerged that she had a sexual relationship with an inmate from the gaol. The prison officer had also smuggled a mobile phone, food, tobacco and newspapers into the prison for the inmate while he served his sentence. She was jailed for two years.
In September 2012, it was revealed that Bedford Prison had the highest suicide rate of any prison in England and Wales during 2011/12. Four inmates committed suicide at the prison during this period, out of a population of 465.
In November 2016 riot police and emergency services were called to a
prisoner riot at the facility.
The prison today
Bedford is a local prison holding Category B male prisoners who have been remanded from
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
Crown Court
The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...
and all magistrates' courts in Bedfordshire. The term 'local' means that the prison holds people on
remand to the local courts, as well as sentenced prisoners.
There is a split regime operating within the prison, offering
work
Work may refer to:
* Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community
** Manual labour, physical work done by humans
** House work, housework, or homemaking
** Working animal, an animal tr ...
and
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...
on a part-time basis. There is a resettlement unit within the prison, a daily
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
provision, and
gym
A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...
nasium available. The prison hosts a healthcare centre with 12 beds and 24-hour health care coverage, while those prisoners who may be at risk from
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...
or self-harm are provided a prisoner listener scheme.
The
Ormiston Children and Families Trust
Ormiston Trust is a charitable trust based in London, England. It is a grant-making trust that chiefly assists schools and organisations supporting children and young people.
The trust was established in the memory of Fiona Ormiston Murray who d ...
runs the Visitors Centre, which features wheelchair access, a children's play area with supervised play activity and baby changing facilities. Two Quiet Gardens, affiliated to
The Quiet Garden Trust
The Quiet Garden Trust is a non-profit organisation which encourages the provision of gardens where people can set aside time for contemplation, prayer and renewal. The opening of Quiet Gardens is controlled by the respective owners, and the trus ...
, have been established inside the prison for quiet contemplation and prayer for both prisoners and staff.
Michael Berry, 24, was the eighth prisoner to kill himself since 2017. Berry told staff he found it hard to ignore voices in his head telling him to kill himself but despite this no GP saw him and anti psychotic medication was not prescribed for Berry. The Prison and Probation Ombudsman said that, "significant issues remain" in mental health service provision at Bedford Prison.
Bedford Prison is overcrowded, inspection revealed 495 prisoners while the certified capacity is just 322.
Riot
On Sunday 6 November 2016, there was a riot in Bedford prison with 200 prisoners protesting against lockdowns due to staff shortages. Prisoners claim accessing drugs is easier than accessing clothing or bedding in the prison. Basics like soap and toilet paper were not consistently supplied. The
Independent Monitoring Board at Bedford said that prisoners were not treated humanely before the riot. The numbers claiming they developed a drug problem while in the prison rose from 4% to 14%. The
Prison Officers Association has been warning for some time about the risk of violence in British prisons.
Her Majesty's Prison
His Majesty's Prisons (Her Majesty's Prisons in the case of a female monarch) is the name given to prisons in the United Kingdom, as well as some in Australia and a small number in Canada, Grenada, Jersey, The Bahamas and Barbados. The title make ...
inspection in May 2016 found poor physical conditions and stated, “Arrangements for managing violent and bullying behaviour and supporting victims were weak.” The riot caused £1 million damage.
The
Howard League for Penal Reform
The Howard League for Penal Reform is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921, ...
stated officers refused to unlock prisoners when it was considered too risky. Andrew Neilson of the campaign said:
This is one of four serious incident within under two months, Riots also happened at
Birmingham Prison
HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B men's prison, located in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England. The prison was operated by G4S from 2011, before it was returned to HM Prison and Probation Service in August 2018. The government take ...
,
Lewes Prison
His Majesty's Prison Lewes is a local category B prison located in Lewes in East Sussex, England. The term local means that the prison holds people on remand to the local courts, as well as sentenced prisoners. The prison is operated by His Maj ...
and
Swaleside Prison.
Following the riot
In May 2018 inspectors found the prison was making insufficient progress and Bedford Prison was put into special measures. In September 2018
Peter Clarke activated the urgent notification protocol because inspectors had found high levels of violence and inexperienced staff having difficulty maintaining control. Clarke wrote, “The clear view of the inspectorate is that immediate and decisive intervention is needed at HMP Bedford to avert further decline and an even more dangerous lack of control than is currently the case. It is of great concern that for seven years the prison has been on a path of seemingly inexorable decline. Repeated inspection findings clearly show that this has been the case. For much of that time there was a marked inconsistency in the leadership of the prison, with frequent changes of governor.” Prisoners were effectively in control choosing when to comply with authority, and regularly breaking rules. There was a smell of drugs in all wings, 3 in 5 prisoners admitted developing a drug habit since getting into the prison, there was a rat and cockroach infestation. There were 116 assaults on staff during the 6 months to September 2018. Living conditions were bad and overcrowded and there was insufficient purposeful activity for prisoners.
Notable former inmates
*
John Bunyan
John Bunyan (; baptised 30 November 162831 August 1688) was an English writer and Puritan preacher best remembered as the author of the Christian allegory ''The Pilgrim's Progress,'' which also became an influential literary model. In addition ...
– author of
The Pilgrim's Progress
''The Pilgrim's Progress from This World, to That Which Is to Come'' is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan. It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of ...
, convicted for unlicensed preaching.
* Ahmed Ali Awan - convicted of the racially motivated
murder of Ross Parker
Ross Andrew Parker (17 August 198421 September 2001), from Peterborough, England, was a seventeen-year-old white English male murdered in an unprovoked racially motivated crime. He bled to death after being stabbed, beaten with a hammer an ...
.
*
Sarah Dazley - poisoner, hanged in 1843.
*
James Hanratty
James Hanratty (4 October 1936 – 4 April 1962), also known as the A6 Murderer, was a British criminal who was one of the final eight people in the UK to be executed before capital punishment was effectively abolished. He was hanged at Bedfo ...
- eighth to last person in Britain to be executed for murder.
Hanged
Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...
Wednesday, 4 April 1962.
BBC - Beds Herts and Bucks - History - James Hanratty - The A6 Murder
/ref>
* Alfred Rouse
Alfred Arthur Rouse (6 April 1894 – 10 March 1931) was a British murderer, known as the Blazing Car Murderer, who was convicted and subsequently hanged at Bedford Gaol for the November 1930 murder of an unknown man in Hardingstone, Northampto ...
- hanged Tuesday, 10 March 1931, for the ''Blazing car murder'' at Hardingstone
Hardingstone is a village in Northamptonshire, England. It is on the southern edge of Northampton, and now forms a suburb of the town. It is about from the town centre. The Newport Pagnell road (the B526, formerly part of the A50) separates ...
which attracted sensational national interest. Rouse was tried at Northampton Assizes.
References
External links
History of Bedford Prison from theprison.org.uk
Ministry of Justice pages on HMP Bedford
HMP Bedford - HM Inspectorate of Prisons Reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford (Hm Prison)
Prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
Category B prisons in England
Prisons in Bedfordshire
1801 establishments in England
Men's prisons