Close Supervision Centres were established by
UK Prison Service in 1998, as a means to segregate the most violent or disruptive prisoners. As of 2021, there were 52 inmates held in the restrictive regime which involves
solitary confinement. The
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and
Amnesty International have raised concerns about the centres.
Usage
![Whitemoor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Whitemoor.jpg)
Close Supervision Centres (CSCs) were established in the UK in 1998, as a means to segregate the most violent or disruptive prisoners detained in
His Majesty's Prison Service.
Under this restrictive regime, prisoners are kept in
solitary confinement and are allowed one hour per day of recreation; they cannot speak with other inmates and are limited to two visits of thirty minutes per month.
As of 2015, there were 50 prisoners held in CSCs, with the annual cost to hold each prisoner estimated to be £100,000.
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' newspaper reported in 2021 that the total was 52.
Nils Melzer, the
United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment found the conditions in CSCs to be "comparable to solitary detention" and was particularly concerned by the case of
Kevan Thakrar, who had been held in CSCs for 11 years.
Amnesty International stated the regime was "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment".
Prisons with CSCs include
HM Prison Woodhill and
HM Prison Whitemoor
HM Prison Whitemoor is a Category A men's prison near March, Cambridgeshire, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
History
Whitemoor Prison was built on the site of an old railway marshalling yard and was opened in 1991 by Norma ...
.
In 2022,
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
Dominic Raab
Dominic Rennie Raab (; born 25 February 1974) is a British politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Secretary of State for Justice, and Lord Chancellor since October 2022, having previously served from 2021 to ...
announced that the government would spend £6 million to expand the CSC regime.
See also
*
Article 41-bis prison regime
In Italian law, Article 41-bis of the Prison Administration Act, also known as carcere duro ("hard prison regime"), is a provision that allows the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior to suspend certain prison regulations. Currently ...
*
Supermax prison
References
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
Prisons in the United Kingdom
1998 establishments in the United Kingdom