HM Prison Peterborough is a Category B

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 ...

for men, and a closed prison for women and female young offenders, located in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

, Cambridgeshire, England. The prison is operated by

Sodexo Justice Services Sodexo Justice Services (formerly United Kingdom Detention Services and Kalyx), a subsidiary of Sodexo, is a private prison operator in the United Kingdom and in several other countries. The company changed its name to Sodexo Justice Services in ...

, and is the only dual purpose-built prison holding males and females in the United Kingdom. The prison, which has a population of 320 inmates, comprises four large wings, each with a separate housing arrangement for female detainees and male detainees. It is managed by the Newton Secure Training Centre (NSTC), and the associated training centre, which operates under Sodexo Services, comprises 26 housing units, ranging from 12-storey purpose built units to 10-storey semiprivate accommodation units.

History

HMP Peterborough was built on the site of the former

Baker Perkins Baker Perkins Ltd is a British engineering company for food processing equipment headquartered in Peterborough, England. Its product portfolio offers different technologies and applications for the bread, biscuit, confectionery, snack, and break ...

engineering works. The prison opened in 2005, despite a great deal of protest from local residents. The Prison Service claimed at the time that Peterborough as a 'mixed-use' prison would become a blueprint for the prisons of the future. Peterborough Prison was soon involved in controversy however, when the jail advertised to recruit 2 holistic therapists to offer

reflexology Reflexology, also known as zone therapy, is an alternative medical practice involving the application of pressure to specific points on the feet, ears, and hands. This is done using thumb, finger, and hand massage techniques without the use of ...

aromatherapy Aromatherapy is based on the usage of aromatic materials including essential oils and other aroma compounds, with claims for improving psychological and physical well-being. It is offered as a complementary therapy or as a form of alternative ...

and Indian head massages to inmates. The MP for

Stewart Jackson Stewart James Jackson, Baron Jackson of Peterborough (born 31 January 1965) is a British politician and adviser. Jackson served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough from 2005 to 2017. After being ousted by Labour's Fi ...

accused the prison of pampering inmates and sending out the wrong message to hard-working families. In January 2008, a national table of prisons compiled by the Prison Service revealed that Peterborough Prison had come last out of 132 prisons and prison clusters, with low marks for reducing re-offending, organisational effectiveness and decency. A month later, women prisoners at Peterborough complained that the food served at the jail was too high in calories, and made them put on weight. Officials at the prison claimed that healthy options were always available for inmates at mealtimes. 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 will be constructed at Peterborough Prison, increasing the overall capacity of the jail. The prison was the scene of an incident involving a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

bomb disposal team on 13 April 2018, which deployed a bomb disposal robot to remotely interact with a silver

Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...

at the prison. Authorities revealed the following day they had been responding to a reported bomb in the car but this proved incorrect.

Notable inmates

Rekha Kumari-Baker Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fil ...

, woman who stabbed to death her own two children in 2007 * Emma Tustin, woman convicted of torturing and murdering her step-son in June 2020. Sentenced in 2021.

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on Peterborough

Sodexo Justice Services page on Peterborough
Prisons in Cambridgeshire Category B prisons in England Women's prisons in England Buildings and structures in Peterborough 2005 establishments in England Private prisons in the United Kingdom Sodexo Justice Services {{UK-prison-stub