HM Prison Chelmsford 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 ...
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
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
,
Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...
,
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
Chelmsford Prison began as a county jail in 1825 before transforming into a
Category B prison, a young person's prison, and a local prison. It was expanded in 1996.
The prison's main entrance was originally through an austere stone-built porter's lodge in the middle of the Springfield Road frontage. The lodge's flat roof was designed to support the gallows scaffold and drop, while the forecourt could easily accommodate the hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of spectators that would congregate for an execution.
Originally called Springfield Prison, from 1825 to the end of 1914 43 people were hanged.
The first 'private' execution at Springfield was that of Michael Campbell on 24th April 1871. The 28 year old Berwick born tailor and former soldier was convicted of murder of Samuel Galloway (49), a retired dock worker in Stratford.
The oldest man to be hanged in the 20th century in Britain was 71 year old German born grocer Charles Fremd who was executed on 4th November 1914 for murdering his wife at Leytonstone. She was found dead from a cut throat. Her husband was beside her with only a minor self-inflicted wound. As Fremd was dropped he caught and bruised his head on the trap door. Shortly after Fremd's death the prison was taken over by the army for use as a military gaol, and after it reverted to civilian use in 1931 there were no further executions Thus, the oldest man was also the last man to feel the noose around his neck at Springfield Prison.
In 1999 the management at Chelmsford Prison were severely criticised by the
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 inspe ...
, after findings that staff were failing to respond to cell alarms five years after a prisoner was beaten to death by his cell-mate. The prison was also criticised for unacceptably bad conditions of cleanliness. A further inspection a year later confirmed these failings at the prison. In 2002, "conditions at Chelmsford...
erecondemned as 'poor and cramped' by the gaol's board of visitors."
However, in 2005, Chelmsford was praised in its inspection for improving standards and procedures for inmates at the prison. This was confirmed a year later by the
Independent Monitoring Board which praised the new management at the prison.
On 25 December 2007, 18-year-old Abdullah Hagar Idris hanged himself in the prison after he was told that he was going to be deported.
In January 2013, the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry.
Lists of current ministries of justice
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia)
* Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Just ...
announced that older parts of Chelmsford prison will close, with a reduction of 132 places at the gaol.
In December 2015 a riot lead to six members of staff needing hospital treatment.
The prison today
Chelmsford Prison accepts adult male prisoners and Young Offenders, convicted or on remand direct from courts within its local catchment area.
Education at the prison is contracted to
Milton Keynes College
Milton Keynes College is a general further education and training college, serving the City of Milton Keynes. It also serves the surrounding areas (northern Aylesbury Vale, south Northamptonshire, north west Bedfordshire and north east Oxford ...
, and courses offered include
literacy
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
,
numeracy
Numeracy is the ability to understand, reason with, and to apply simple numerical concepts. The charity National Numeracy states: "Numeracy means understanding how mathematics is used in the real world and being able to apply it to make the bes ...
,
information technology
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...
,
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
,
barbering
A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...
,
journalism
Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...
,
cookery
Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in vario ...
,
ESOL as well as social and life programs. The prison's
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 ...
also offers
physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
with industry-related qualifications, as well as recreational gym.
In addition, the prison has links to, and facilities provided by, organisations such as the
Job Centre
An employment agency is an organization which matches employers to employees. In developed countries, there are multiple private businesses which act as employment agencies and a publicly-funded employment agency.
Public employment agencies
One ...
and the
Samaritans
Samaritans (; ; he, שומרונים, translit=Šōmrōnīm, lit=; ar, السامريون, translit=as-Sāmiriyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samarit ...
. There is also a Prison Visitor Centre operated by 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 ...
.
Staffing at the prison has been reduced by 25%.
[Chelmsford Prison suicidal inmate's treatment 'despicable' say family](_blank)
/ref> According to the Independent Monitoring Board bullying, violence and self-harm have increased markedly at the prison due to staff shortages. Budget cuts and the inability of the prison service to recruit and retain staff lead to fears for prison safety. The prison is becoming more dangerous and less effective. Prison health care provided by Care UK
Care UK is a provider of residential care for older people. They operate more than 150 homes offering residential care, dementia care, and nursing care. The company formerly also operated a wider range of healthcare services until 2019 when ...
is considered poor, there were delays in getting medication and reliance on agency staff to fill vacancies.
There is insufficient secure mental health accommodation outside’ the prison for the most vulnerable inmates. The Independent Monitoring Board stated that the "level of service being provided to care for prisoners’ physical and mental health needs remains inadequate" Due to staff shortages the staff were unable to provide engagement work or education for prisoners. Illegal drugs are a problem. Use of force by staff is increasing and there is insufficient monitoring if this use is appropriate. Prisoners must spend too long in their cells. Physical and mental health services for prisoners were found to be inadequate. The staff try to engage prisoners. Money is not available for needed renovation of the Victorian building.
Following the death of a vulnerable inmate in January 2017 and criticism by the Prison Ombudsman, Care UK announced it would end its healthcare contract there as the level of resource the prison service made available was insufficient.
Drug use is a serious problem at HMP Chelmsford according to HM Inspectorate 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 inspe ...
(42.6% of prisoners failed drug tests) and organised gangs supply prohibited items. Inspectors describe, "significant concerns about safety" and excessive levels of violence, much of the violence is due to supply and use of prohibited substances. Overcrowding and under-resourcing are blamed. Peter Clarke said the rising violence, suicides, accessibility of drugs and bad living conditions made him consider using the Urgent Notification protocol, which would make the Justice Secretary take action. In one month, prison authorities seized £15,000 worth of illegal goods. There were 17 suicides at Chelmsford during the 8 years to 2018 and 5 of them were since the inspection in 2016. For examples of suicides, see Notable former inmates
Notability is the property
of being worthy of notice, having fame, or being considered to be of a high degree of interest, significance, or distinction. It also refers to the capacity to be such. Persons who are notable due to public responsibi ...
. Deborah Coles of Inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...
said the prison was, "incredibly unsafe he rate of suicides
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
suggests that the plethora of recommendations following previous self-inflicted deaths have not been implemented. Inquests repeatedly identify the same systemic failings with dismal regularity. Recent inquests into deaths at Chelmsford prison have highlighted failures around the management of self-harm procedures, a lack of staff training in mental health awareness, inadequate risk assessments and failures in responding to bullying. The failure to implement existing guidelines on the care of those at risk indicates a lack of care, neglect and inhuman treatment from punitive and often inflexible prison regimes." Coles urged the setting up of a national group to supervise how lessons from inquests and reports are carried out, the group to be accountable to Parliament. Problems inspectors drew attention to included that 40% of prisoners who did not take part in activities were locked in their cells for up to 22 hours a day and items including mattresses and pillows were in short supply. 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, ...
maintain Chelmsford was designed to hold 521 men but the prison actually held 700 men when it was inspected.
Notable former inmates
* Ian Wright
Ian Edward Wright (born 3 November 1963) is an English television and radio personality and former professional footballer. He works as a pundit for BBC Sport and ITV Sport.
Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal ...
, former footballer
* Alfred George Hinds
Alfred George Hinds (1917 – 5 January 1991) was a British criminal who, while serving a 12-year prison sentence for robbery, broke out of three high security prisons. Despite the dismissal of thirteen of his appeals to higher courts, he was even ...
* Warren Sampson, hanged himself in Chelmsford Prison on 4 September 2015. Sampson's mother contacted the prison hours before his death because she was worried about messages he had sent her but the prison failed to safeguard Sampson. The prison ombudsman said suicide and self-harm procedures, "did not operate fully effectively" and "staff missed signs that Mr Sampson's vulnerability and risk of suicide had increased". Following a mental health review, a counsellor was worried about his anxiety and over a noose he had made, but prison staff did not, "explore this further". The charity INQUEST
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...
said Chelmsford Prison, with one of the highest suicide rates in the nation, made, "the same systemic failings with dismal regularity".
* Dean Saunders, 25, killed himself at HMP Chelmsford in January 2016. An Inquest jury found Saunders was downgraded from continuous watch to half hour checks for financial reasons and neglect contributed to his death. Care UK
Care UK is a provider of residential care for older people. They operate more than 150 homes offering residential care, dementia care, and nursing care. The company formerly also operated a wider range of healthcare services until 2019 when ...
, a private company running healthcare at Chelmsford, "treated financial consideration as a significant reason to reduce the level of observations" although they were warned repeatedly about Dean's mental condition. Dean's mother pleaded with staff to keep him under constant watch. The jury stated Mr Saunders "and his family were let down by serious failings by mental health services and prison system" and that assessing his mental health needs was "not adequately conducted" with "multiple failings in recording and passing on information". Dean's family stated, "Hospital, not prison, is where Dean deserved and needed to be. We as a family, together with our lawyers and Inquest
An inquest is a judicial inquiry in common law jurisdictions, particularly one held to determine the cause of a person's death. Conducted by a judge, jury, or government official, an inquest may or may not require an autopsy carried out by a coro ...
, want Dean's death to mark the end of empty promises and the start of change." The Prison Ombudsman
An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
also found significant risk factors were ignored when observation of Dean Saunders was cut back. The ombudsman found those trying to care for Dean felt he should be in a mental health facility rather than prison. The ombudsman added, "I am also concerned that there appears to have been some confusion at Chelmsford about the process for transferring mentally ill prisoners to hospital, which meant that an opportunity to transfer Mr Saunders in December f 2015
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
was missed. Sadly, the criminal justice system did too little to protect this very vulnerable man." Dean's father, Mark Saunders said, "There was no proper medical structure there n prison
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
to help him. We were lied to and mislead all the way through. We were devastated."[
* In 1990 former professional footballer ]Tony Adams
Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. He spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre back at Arsenal, making 672 ...
spent 57 days of a four month sentence in HMP Chelmsford for drink-driving.
In popular culture
* The 1979 film ''Porridge'' (a film version of the '' Porridge TV series'') was filmed almost entirely on location at Chelmsford Prison in freezing conditions in January 1979. The prison was unoccupied at the time because it was being refurbished after a fire in one of the wings.
* The punk rock band The Sex Pistols
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
recorded a live album here called ''Live at Chelmsford Top Security Prison
''Live at Chelmsford Top Security Prison'' is a live album by Sex Pistols, released in 1990. It was recorded on 17 September 1976 at the Chelmsford Prison, before Glen Matlock left the band.
The recording featured many non-Sex Pistols overdubs ...
''.
* Featured in TV Series ''Luther
Luther may refer to:
People
* Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation
* Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement
* Luther (give ...
''
References
External links
Ministry of Justice pages on HMP & YOI Chelmsford
HMP & YOI Chelmsford - HM Inspectorate of Prisons Reports
History of Chelmsford Springfield Gaol from theprison.org.uk
{{Authority control
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
Prisons in Essex
1830 establishments in England
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...
Buildings and structures in Chelmsford (city)