HM Prison Guys Marsh is a Category C 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 near

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

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 ...

. Guys Marsh 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

Guys Marsh was a former US Military Hospital. In 1960 it opened as a

borstal A Borstal was a type of youth detention centre in the United Kingdom, several member states of the Commonwealth and the Republic of Ireland. In India, such a detention centre is known as a Borstal school. Borstals were run by HM Prison Service ...

(HM Borstal Guys Marsh). The buildings were standard

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British engineer and inventor Majo ...

s and the only buildings that had been added were the officers' quarters (around 50 houses) and the boiler house. The borstal continued in the buildings until the 1980s, when gradually the structures of the building were rebuilt or refurbished. In 1984, Guys Marsh became a

Young Offender Institution In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile de ...

. In 1992, it began also housing adult prisoners when the building of a perimeter fence made it a closed establishment. Guys Marsh soon became an all-adult prison, and within 18 months the gaol managed to increase its operating capacity by 278. In January 2002 the

Board of Visitors In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual col ...

criticised Guys Marsh prison failing to meet government standards on re-offending rates amongst released prisoners. The board blamed a shortage of staff and shortage of money for poor facilities at the jail. The Board also expressed concern over medical care, after a local GPs practice withdrew its services from the prison. In March 2017 a wing of the prison had to be evacuated when a prisoner climbed onto the roof and started a fire there.

The prison today

Accommodation at Guys Marsh comprises seven residential units, which have cellular accommodation and one unit has less secure rooms. Guys Marsh offers workshops to prisoners including

Farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...

s and Estates Management,

Laundry Laundry refers to the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with t ...

, Industrial

Cleaning Cleaning is the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment. Cleaning is often performed for aesthetic, hygienic, functional, environmental, or safety purposes. Cl ...

Bricklaying Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called '' courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by si ...

and a number of contract production workshops. Some of the workshops run recognised external qualifications. A Visitor Centre is available at the prison, with facilities including toilets and a baby changing room. When Guys Marsh was inspected in 2014 it was found prison officers had, "all but lost control". The prison was described as in crisis and gangs operated openly.

Spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

and alcohol related violence was high and prisoners lived in fear.Guys Marsh Prison: Evacuation after fire is started 'by inmate on roof'
''

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'' Prisoners are afraid to leave their cells sometimes for months at a time. Prisoners are inadequately supervised, prisoners push ahead in dinner and medicine queues, walk around in shorts or dressing gowns and smoke unchallenged by staff. Bullying has become so widespread one wing is reserved for prisoners who fear for their safety. Peter Clarke, the chief inspector, said the 2014 inspection found the prison in crisis “where managers and staff had all but lost control”. The prison got six months’ notice of the inspectors’ decision to return in December 2016, inspectors found not enough had been done too late about their worries, and the prison was worse in some respects.Bullying and violence make Guys Marsh jail unsafe, say inspectors
''

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 ...

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on Guys Marsh

HMP Guys Marsh - HM Inspectorate of Prisons Reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guys Marsh (Hm Prison) Category C prisons in England Prisons in Dorset 1960 establishments in England Men's prisons Shaftesbury