Close Supervision Centres were established by UK Prison Service in 1998, as a means to segregate the most violent or disruptive prisoners. As of 2021, there were 52 inmates held in the restrictive regime, which involves

solitary confinement Solitary confinement (also shortened to solitary) is a form of imprisonment in which an incarcerated person lives in a single Prison cell, cell with little or no contact with other people. It is a punitive tool used within the prison system to ...

. The

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is a United Nations special rapporteur. The office is currently filled by Alice Jill Edwards, since 1 August 2022. It was previously h ...

and

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

have raised concerns about the centres.

Usage

Close Supervision Centres (CSCs) were established in the UK in 1998, as a means to segregate the most violent or disruptive prisoners detained in

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 ...

. Under this restrictive regime, prisoners are kept in

and are allowed one hour per day of recreation; they cannot speak with other inmates and are limited to two visits of thirty minutes per month. As of 2015, there were 50 prisoners held in CSCs, with the annual cost to hold each prisoner estimated to be £100,000. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper reported in 2021 that the total was 52.

Nils Melzer Nils Joachim Melzer (born 1970) is a Swiss academic, author, and practitioner in the field of international law. From 2016 until 2022, Melzer was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Pu ...

, the

found the conditions in CSCs to be "comparable to solitary detention" and was particularly concerned by the case of Kevan Thakrar, who had been held in CSCs for 11 years.

stated the regime was "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment". Prisons with CSCs include

HM Prison Woodhill HM Prison Woodhill is a category B men's high security prison located in Milton Keynes, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. A section of the prison is designated as a Young Offenders Institution. A Secure Training C ...

and HM Prison Whitemoor. In 2022,

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Dominic Raab Dominic Rennie Raab ( ; born 25 February 1974) is a British former politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor from September 2021 to September 2022 and again from October 2022 to ...

announced that the government would spend £6 million to expand the CSC regime.

Usage

See also

References

Further reading