HMP and YOI Moorland Open Prison - geograph

An open prison (open jail) is any jail in which the

prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

s are trusted to complete sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and are often not locked up in their prison cells. Prisoners may be permitted to take up employment while serving their sentence. In the UK, open prisons are often part of a rehabilitation plan for prisoners moved from closed prisons. They may be designated "training prisons" and are only for prisoners considered a low risk to the public. The idea of an open prison is often criticised by members of the public and politicians, despite its success towards rehabilitation compared to older more draconian methods. Prisoners in open jails do not have complete freedom and are only allowed to leave the premises for specific purposes, such as going to an outside job. In Ireland, there has been controversy about the level of escape from open prisons, attributed to the use of the prison by the

Irish Prison Service The Irish Prison Service (IPS) () manages the day-to-day operation of prisons in the Republic of Ireland. Political responsibility for the Ireland's prisons rests with the Minister of the Department of Justice. Budget, staff, and figures As of ...

to transfer prisoners unsuitable for open conditions but to reduce overcrowding in the closed prisons. The idea of open prisons is to rehabilitate prisoners rather than to punish them.

Examples of open prisons

India

* Nettukaltheri Open Prison & Correctional Home,

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Cheemeni Cheemeni is a small town in Hosdurg taluk of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Demographics As of the 2011 India census, Cheemeni had a population of 8,283 with 3,908 males and 4,375 females. Transportation Local roads have acc ...

Open Prison & Correctional Home,

Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala an ...

Poojapura Poojappura known as "The heart of Trivandrum" is a Suburb of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in India. It is located in the south-east part of the city, surrounded by Jagathi, Karamana, Mudavanmugal and Thirumala. This place was once used as ...

Women Open Prison & Correctional Home,

* Yerwada Open Jail, in Yerwada,

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

* Tihar Open Jail, in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

Ireland

Loughan House Loughan House Open Centre (; ) is a low-security, open detention centre in Blacklion, County Cavan, Ireland. It was purchased by the Department of Justice in 1972 to be converted to a prison facility. It is low security, and caters for male inma ...

, Blacklion, County Cavan, Ireland *

Shelton Abbey Prison Shelton Abbey () on the north bank of the Avoca near Arklow County Wicklow, is a penal institution operated by the Irish Prison Service (IPS). Shelton Abbey was the ancestral seat of the Earls of Wicklow until 1951 when financial difficultie ...

, Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland

United Kingdom

;;England (men's) * HM Prison Ford, Ford,

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

HM Prison Leyhill HM Prison Leyhill is a Category D men's prison, located in the parish of Tortworth in Gloucestershire, England. Leyhill Prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History Leyhill Prison was originally a United States military hospital ...

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming ...

HM Prison Hatfield HM Prison Hatfield (formerly HMP & YOI Moorland Open) is a Category D men's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located near Hatfield Woodhouse in South Yorkshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History ...

South Yorkshire South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham. ...

HM Prison Haverigg HM Prison Haverigg is a Category D men's prison, located in village of Haverigg (near Millom) in Cumbria, and historically in Cumberland, England. The prison is situated just outside the Lake District National Park. Haverigg Prison is opera ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

HM Prison Hewell HM Prison Hewell is a multiple security category men's prison in the village of Tardebigge in Worcestershire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. On 16 October 2019, the Ministry of Justice announced that HMP Hew ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

HM Prison Thorn Cross HM Prison Thorn Cross is a Category D Adult Male Institution for males aged 18-25. The prison is located in the village of Appleton Thorn (near Warrington) in Cheshire, England. Thorn Cross is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Hist ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

HM Prison Hollesley Bay HM Prison Hollesley Bay, known locally as Hollesley Bay Colony (to which signposts still point) or simply The Colony, is a Category D men's prison and Young Offender Institution, located in the village of Hollesley, about 8 miles (13 km) ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

* HM Prison Kirkham,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...

* HM Prison Kirklevington Grange,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four co ...

* HM Prison North Sea Camp,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

* HM Prison Spring Hill,

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

* HM Prison Standford Hill,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

HM Prison Sudbury HM Prison Sudbury is a Category D men's prison, located in the village of Sudbury in Derbyshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. History Sudbury was originally constructed as a hospital for the United States Ai ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

;;England (women's) *

HM Prison Askham Grange HM Prison Askham Grange is a women's open category prison, located in Askham Richard village in North Yorkshire, England. The prison is run by His Majesty's Prison Service. History H.M. Prison Askham Grange was opened in January 1947 as a wo ...

, York *

HM Prison East Sutton Park HM Prison East Sutton Park is a women's open prison and young offender's institute located in the Parish of East Sutton, near Maidstone in Kent, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison & Probation Service. History East Sutton ...

;;Wales * HM Prison Prescoed,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, wit ...

;;Scotland * HM Prison Castle Huntly,

Longforgan Longforgan is a village and parish in the Carse of Gowrie, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies west of Dundee on the main A90 road. History A record survives of Sir Patrick Gray, as Baron of Longforgan, holding a baronial court here in 13 ...

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland ...

Offener Vollzug in Germany

In Germany the "Offener Vollzug" is part of the rehabilitation process for about 16% of prisoners.Justizvollzug: Strafgefangene nach Geschlecht, Alter und Art des Vollzugs, voraussichtliche Vollzugsdauer
from the

Federal Statistical Office of Germany The Federal Statistical Office (german: Statistisches Bundesamt, shortened ''Destatis'') is a federal authority of Germany. It reports to the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Office is responsible for collecting, processing, presenting and ...

In fiction

Trumble, a fictional open prison in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

, is the major setting for John Grisham's novel '' The Brethren''.

References

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