HM Prison Downview is a women's

closed category In category theory, a branch of mathematics, a closed category is a special kind of category. In a locally small category, the ''external hom'' (''x'', ''y'') maps a pair of objects to a set of morphisms. So in the category of sets, this is an obje ...

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 ...

. Downview is located on the outskirts of

Banstead Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, south-west of Croydon, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Downs, it is on three of the four main ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

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 ...

(overlooking

Banstead Downs Banstead Downs is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Banstead in Surrey. There are Saxon burial mounds on the site and they are a Scheduled Monument Today, with wooded areas and wide open fields, Banstead Downs are predominantly ...

), and is immediately adjacent to the southern boundary of Belmont in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is situated in proximity to High Down Prison for men.

History

Downview was converted from a former nurses' home of

Banstead Hospital Banstead Hospital, also known as Banstead Asylum, was a psychiatric hospital in the village of Belmont, Sutton, adjacent to Banstead. History The hospital was commissioned by the Middlesex Court of Magistrates, as the Third Middlesex County Asyl ...

; it opened in 1989 as a Category C male prison. In 1992, HMP Downview saw the establishment of the UK's first intensive drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme. The programme was established by the

Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust The Forward Trust is a British charity that helps people with drug and alcohol dependence. Previously known as RAPt (the Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust), it was relaunched in 2017 as Forward Trust after merging with Blue Sky organ ...

and was opened by

Anthony Hopkins Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins (born 31 December 1937) is a Welsh actor, director, and producer. One of Britain's most recognisable and prolific actors, he is known for his performances on the screen and stage. Hopkins has received many accolad ...

, who remains a patron of the trust. In September 2001, owing to increased demand for places at women's prisons in the UK, Downview's role changed to a "closed" prison for adult women. A year later, one of the prison's

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

s resigned after claims that he had demanded sexual favours from inmates in exchange for communion wine. In December 2004 a sixteen-bed juvenile unit opened at Downview for young female offenders (both remand and convicted) aged from 15-18, in partnership with the

Youth Justice Board The Youth Justice Board ( cy, Bwrdd Cyfiawnder Ieuenctid), for England and Wales (YJB) is a non-departmental public body created by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to oversee the youth justice system for England and Wales. It is sponsored by the ...

. The PRIME project was launched at Downview in April 2006; it is now known as The Media House. It is a media educational and broadcast facility inside the prison. The project, managed by Maria Esposito from 2007 to 2013, has won several awards including the Butler Trust Award in 2010/11. Prisoners can achieve a BTEC qualification for completing the 16-week course.

The prison today

Downview Prison holds adult sentenced female prisoners. Downview is divided into 4 wings, A, B, C and D (D wing is a resettlement wing). All wings have single-cell accommodation with in-cell electricity and telephony. The prison offers vocational training courses and

NVQ National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are practical work-based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by the ...

s for inmates. The resettlement wing provides opportunities for inmates to work and receive education outside the prison. On 4 September 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 it intended to convert Downview into a prison for adult males. It closed as a women's prison in preparation for conversion, but in 2016 it reopened as a women's prison when

HM Prison Holloway HM Prison Holloway was a closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, until its closure in 2016. His ...

was closed, taking many of its prisoners. In March 2019, the Ministry of Justice announced that a wing within the prison would be used solely to house

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

inmates, making it the first unit in the UK to serve this purpose.

Notable inmates

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on Downview

HMP Downview - HM Inspectorate of Prisons Reports
{{Authority control Downview Prisons in Surrey 1989 establishments in England