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, corre ...

. 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 county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

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 ...

(overlooking Banstead Downs), and is immediately adjacent to the southern boundary of Belmont in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

. The prison 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 Wal ...

, 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 Asy ...

; 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 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, 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, intelligence ...

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 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 Justi ...

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 ...

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