HM Prison Castington was a male juvenile'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 ...

and

Young Offenders Institution His Majesty's Young Offender Institution (or HMYOI) is a type of prison in Great Britain, intended for offenders aged up to 18, although some prisons cater for younger offenders from ages 15 to 17, who are classed as juvenile offenders. Typically t ...

, located in the village of

Acklington Acklington is a small village in Northumberland, England. It is situated to the south-west of Amble, inland from the North Sea coast. It is served by Acklington railway station. The name is Anglo-Saxon Old English 'farmstead of Eadlac's people'. ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

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 was 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 ...

. In 2011 the facility was merged into the newly named HM Prison Northumberland. Castington Prison was the most northerly Young Offenders Institution in England, and was built on the site of the former

RAF Acklington Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force station located south west of Amble, Northumberland and north east of Morpeth, Northumberland. The airfield was operational initia ...

airfield.

History

Castington Prison was subject to a hostage crisis in 1997 when a prison officer was held hostage by two inmates for nineteen hours. At least two small fires were lit at the prison by inmates during the disturbance. Castington was involved in more controversy in 2001 when the

Prison Reform Trust The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) was founded in 1981 in London, England, by a small group of prison reform campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform was heading, concentrating more on community punish ...

named it as the most violent detention centre in England. Various improvements to the regime and facilities at Castington were implemented over the next few years with positive results. In 2005 the prison was declared a safe, respectful and purposeful environment by

His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons His 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. The current chief insp ...

. In July 2011, it was announced that Castington along with several other publicly operated prisons, would be market tested, allowing private operators as well as HM Prison service, to tender for the contract to operate the prison. On 31 October 2011 HM Prison Castington merged with HM Prison Acklington to form HMP Northumberland and on 1 December 2013 management of HMP Northumberland passed from

Her 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 ...

Sodexo Justice Services Sodexo Justice Services (formerly United Kingdom Detention Services and Kalyx), a subsidiary of Sodexo, is a private prison operator in the United Kingdom and in several other countries. The company changed its name to Sodexo Justice Services in ...

The prison until October 2011

Castington has the capacity to accommodate 128 sentenced and unsentenced juveniles (aged 15–17), 40 trainees (aged 15–17), as well as 120 sentenced and 120 unsentenced young offenders (aged 18–21). The prison is divided into seven units, all of which are equipped with integral sanitation. The prison provides full-time

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 ...

and vocational training geared towards

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

GNVQ A General National Vocational Qualification, or GNVQ, was a certificate of vocational education in the United Kingdom. The last GNVQs were awarded in 2007. The qualifications related to occupational areas in general, rather than any specific ...

s and

City and Guilds The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies – to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has ...

qualifications for all inmates. Facilities at Castington include a

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 ...

, fully equipped

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 ...

and sports pitches. In addition the prison's P.E. Department organise various sports teams and competitions. The prison chaplaincy includes eight members from various

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

denominations as well as an

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

. Castington's Healthcare Centre has nursing cover 24 hours per day with seven in-patient beds and a Primary Care area. Outpatient facilities include a daily GP surgery with access to a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

optician An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...

, and

podiatrist A podiatrist ( ) is a medical professional devoted to the treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. The term originated in North America but has now become the accepted term in the English-speaking world for ...

, as well as specialised mental health services.

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on HMP NorthumberlandHMP Castington - HM Inspectorate of Prisons Reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castington Young Offender Institutions in England Juvenile prisons in England Prisons in Northumberland Sodexo Justice Services