HM Prison Parc (Welsh: ) is a Category B men's

private prison A private prison, or for-profit prison, is a place where people are imprisoned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit pr ...

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 ...

Bridgend Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge ...

Mid Glamorgan , Government= Mid Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Mid ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Parc Prison is operated by

G4S G4S is a British Multinational corporation, multinational private security company headquartered in London, England. The company was set up in 2004 when London-based Securicor amalgamated with Danish firm Group 4 Falck. The company offers a ran ...

, and is the only privately operated prison in Wales.

History

The site was previously occupied by

Parc Hospital Parc Hospital ( cy, Ysbyty Parc) was a mental health facility at Bridgend in Wales. History Parc Gwyllt Farm and Gelliau Farm were identified in 1880 as forming a site suitable for the purposes of building an asylum. The hospital, which was desig ...

, a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

. Parc Prison was procured a

Private Finance Initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...

contract in January 1996. The new prison, which was built by

Costain Group Costain Group plc is a British construction and engineering company headquartered in Maidenhead, England. Founded in 1865, its history includes extensive housebuilding and mining activities, but it later focused on civil engineering and commerci ...

at a cost of £82 million, opened in November 1997. However, from its opening, Parc Prison was beset with problems. Failures in the prison security technology, anti-English racism from Welsh inmates, and a high number of suicides were all highlighted as concerns by

Her 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 a 1999 report. However, in March 2001, a new report from the Chief Inspector noted a major improvement in standards. In August 2004, the Independent Monitoring Board issued a report stating that Parc Prison had been rated as the worst-performing privately run prison in Wales and England (of the then ten in existence). The report criticised the lack of separate healthcare facilities for juveniles at the prison, the inadequate level of dental provision for all prisoners, and issues of staff morale. 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 an additional houseblock would be constructed at Parc Prison, increasing the overall capacity of the facility.

Current state

Parc Prison holds Remand and Sentenced Category B Adult males, juveniles and young offenders. All cells in the prison are equipped with in-cell sanitation, natural and forced ventilation, and in-cell electrics. The prison states that all wings are equipped with hot-water boilers, PIN telephones, pool and table tennis tables, showers, laundry facilities, and association areas. Education at Parc Prison is provided by an in-house education department. A range of subjects are offered including

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

maths Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

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 ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...

and

languages Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

, plus a range of vocational qualifications. Qualifications up to and including

Open University The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...

courses are available. The prison's industries complex comprises nine workshops including

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters tr ...

, metalwork,

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

and print, and 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 ...

. All other workshops are dedicated to manufacturing contracts with local companies. Other facilities at the prison 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 ...

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 ...

, fitness room, and a multi-faith

chaplaincy A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

. The prison's visits hall has a canteen and crèche. Parc has ten different wings consisting of eight main wings and two YPU wings. Prisoner accommodation is made up of a mix of single cells and double cells.

Notable inmates

Mark Aizlewood Mark Aizlewood (born 1 October 1959) is a Welsh manager and former professional footballer who currently manages Cymru South side Carmarthen Town. Having started his football career at his hometown club Newport County, making his professiona ...

* Ian Watkins https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Watkins_(Lostprophets_singer)

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on Parc

G4S Parc homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parc (Hm Prison) G4S Prisons in Bridgend County Borough 1997 establishments in Wales Young Offender Institutions in Wales Private prisons in the United Kingdom Men's prisons