Guernsey Prison (also known as Les Nicolles Prison) is a mixed-use
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 ...
on the island of
Guernsey
Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
. Opened in 1989, it is currently Guernsey's only prison, and therefore accommodates male, female and vulnerable prisoners, both of juvenile and adult ages. The prison has 11 wings, and a capacity of 139. It is operated by the
States of Guernsey
The States of Guernsey (), officially the States of Deliberation and sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the ...
.
History
The prison has seen its population fluctuate considerably over the years. Numbers peaked at 127 in August 2012, before falling to an all-time low of 89 in 2015. The prison's population has steadily increased again since the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, with 99 prisoners reported to be housed in the prison in November 2024.
On 1 January 2013, Guernsey became the second jurisdiction in Europe to implement a smoking ban in its prisons (following a ban in the Isle of Man in 2008). Inmates at Les Nicolles were given notice of the ban and encouraged to attend courses to give up smoking, while
e-cigarette
An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), or vape, is a device that simulates smoking. It consists of an atomizer, a power source such as a battery, and a container such as a cartridge or tank. Instead of smoke, the user inhales vapor. As such ...
s were allowed as an alternative to tobacco. The ban was introduced without any unrest among prisoners.
In March 2018, Les Nicolles became the first prison to employ
Sky Fence drone technology, designed to prevent drugs and other contraband items being smuggled into prisons with the use of drones.
In February 2025, BBC News reported that prisoners at Guernsey Prison had helped to build 50 wooden benches for use on the
Channel Island
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consist ...
of
Herm
Herm (Guernésiais: , ultimately from Old Norse 'arm', due to the shape of the island, or Old French 'hermit') is one of the -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, ...
.
See also
*
HM Prison La Moye
*
Isle of Man Prison
Isle of Man Prison is a mixed-use prison located in the Jurby parish of the Isle of Man. The prison is operated by the Isle of Man Prison Service (part of the Department of Home Affairs (Isle of Man), Department of Home Affairs) and is the only ...
References
External links
Guernsey Prison
Prisons in the Channel Islands
Buildings and structures in Guernsey
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