HM Prison Acklington was a Category C men's

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

, located near the village of

Acklington Acklington is a small village in Northumberland, England. It is situated to the south-west of Amble, inland from the North Sea coast. It is served by Acklington railway station. The name is Anglo-Saxon Old English meaning 'farmstead of Eadlac's ...

(a few miles from

Amble Amble is a town on the North Sea coast of Northumberland, England, at the mouth of the River Coquet; Coquet Island is visible from its beaches and harbour. In 2021, the parish of Amble by the Sea had a population of 5,860. Etymology There ...

), in

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Acklington Prison was operated by

Her 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 ...

. In 2011 Acklington was merged into the newly named

HM Prison Northumberland HM Prison Northumberland is a Category C men's prison, located in Morpeth near the village of Acklington in Northumberland, England. Since 2013 Northumberland has been operated by private prison firm Sodexo Justice Services under contract with ...

. HMP Acklington was the most northerly adult prison in England, and was built on the site of the former

RAF Acklington Royal Air Force Acklington, simply known as RAF Acklington, is a former Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located southwest of Amble, Northumberland and north of Newcastle upon Tyne. The a ...

airfield.

History

Acklington Prison opened in 1972, and was soon branded a

holiday camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation, primarily in the United Kingdom, that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term ...

by the local media due to lax security and comfortable conditions for inmates. When the prison's security problems were at their worst, there were 14

escapes Escape or Escaping may refer to: Arts and media Film * Escape (1928 film), ''Escape'' (1928 film), a German silent drama film * Escape! (film), ''Escape!'' (film), a 1930 British crime film starring Austin Trevor and Edna Best * Escape (1940 film ...

in one year. A review of security was undertaken in 1990 after a spate of escapes, including one in which a

jogger Jogging is a form of trotting or running at a slow or leisurely pace. The main intention is to increase physical fitness with less stress on the body than from faster running but more than walking, or to maintain a steady speed for longer periods ...

trotted away from a supervised group and scaled the fence. Several weeks later two inmates hijacked a

milk float A milk float is a vehicle specifically designed for the Delivery (commerce), delivery of fresh milk. Today, milk floats are usually battery electric vehicles (BEV), but they were formerly Float (horse-drawn), horse-drawn floats. They were ...

and used it to dodge security. Acklington came in for further criticism in September 2002 when prefabs were constructed at the prison to house inmates due to overcrowding. A month later staff passed a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in governor Peter Atkinson, citing safety concerns over job cuts at the prison. In November 2004, three prisoners were involved in a disturbance which caused extensive damage to a wing of Acklington Prison. The inmates were protesting about being recently jailed, and were segregated after the incident. In July 2011, it was announced that Acklington along with several other publicly operated prisons, would be market tested, allowing private operators as well as HM Prison service, to tender for the contract to operate the prison. On 31 October 2011 HM Prison Acklington merged with

HM Prison Castington HM Prison Castington was a male juvenile's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Acklington in Northumberland, England. The prison was operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. In 2011 the facility was merged into the n ...

to form HMP Northumberland and on 1 December 2013 management of HMP Northumberland passed from

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 several other countries. The company changed its name to Sodexo Justice Services in 20 ...

The prison until October 2011

Acklington is a category C prison for adult male prisoners, with many being

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

Education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

and vocational courses at the prison include:

Woodwork Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinetry, furniture making, wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by ...

;

Tailoring A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

and

Textiles Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...

; Industrial workshops;

Engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

workshops;

Painting and Decorating A house painter and decorator is a tradesperson responsible for the painting and decorating of buildings, and is also known as a decorator, or house painter.''The Modern Painter and Decorator'' volume 1 1921 Caxton The purpose of painting is t ...

;

Bricklaying Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and Mortar (masonry), mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''Course (architecture), courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks ...

; Amenity

Gardening Gardening is the process of growing plants for their vegetables, fruits, flowers, herbs, and appearances within a designated space. Gardens fulfill a wide assortment of purposes, notably the production of Aesthetics, aesthetically pleasing area ...

;

Market Gardening A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to s ...

;

Laundry Laundry is the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with this u ...

;

Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

;

Waste Management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitor ...

and

Catering Catering is the business of providing food services at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major service ...

, all of which include accredited qualifications. The prison also offers accredited Offending Behaviour programmes which include Drug Rehabilitation facilities, Sex Offender Programmes, Enhanced Thinking Skills, and Healthy Relationships programmes.

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on HMP Northumberland

HMP Acklington - HM Inspectorate of Prisons Reports
{{Authority control

1972 establishments in England