HM Prison High Down is a Category C men's training / resettlement prison. It 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, London, Sutton, south-west of Croydon, north of Reigate, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Dow ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

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 ...

(overlooking

Banstead Downs Banstead Downs is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Banstead in Surrey. There are Saxon burial mounds on the site and they are a Scheduled Monument. Today, with wooded areas and wide open fields, Banstead Downs are predominantly ...

), and is immediately adjacent to the southern boundary of Belmont in

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. 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 ...

, and is near Downview Prison for women.

History

High Down Prison was built in 1992 on the site previously occupied by Banstead Hospital. In November 2010, the prison football team played a friendly match against League Two side

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

, losing 8–0. High down is a category C training prison and formerly a category B local prison. There is a visitors centre at the prison with facilities including baby changing facilities and a crèche. Conditions for prisoners reportedly deteriorated following staff cuts.

The Clink The Clink was a prison in Southwark, England, which operated from the 12th century until 1780. The prison served the Liberty of the Clink, a local manor area owned by the Bishop of Winchester rather than by the reigning monarch. As the Libe ...

is a public restaurant located within the prison and was the first of its kind to open within a UK prison.

Accommodation and facilities

Support includes: sentence planning, drug counseling, First Night in Prison scheme and Bail Information scheme. The prison has a detox unit. Prisoners can wear own clothes rather than uniforms. Showers are provided on each landing. A pinphone system is in use, with all cells having their own phone.

Healthcare

The prison plans to open an offender personality disorder unit with a capacity of 23 beds in single cells, and has an Integrated Substance Misuse service. Dental services are provided three times a week, optician services fortnightly, chiropody services weekly, asthma services weekly and sexual health services weekly. GP and out of hours services are available. There is one full-time consultant forensic psychiatrist and an additional psychiatrist who works two days per week. Healthcare services are provided by Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

Notable inmates

Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), better known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer who achieved fame and success during the 1970s and 1980s. His career ended after he was convicted of downloading child pornography i ...

, jailed for 16 years at Southwark Crown Court in 2015 following conviction for multiple historic child sexual offences, was moved to HMP High Down one month into his sentence. * Chris Lewis, former England cricketer was jailed in 2009 for drug smuggling and spent six years at the prison. * Josh Payne, footballer who was jailed for twelve months for

actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and th ...

and

common assault Common assault is an offence in English law. It is committed by a person who causes another person to apprehend the immediate use of unlawful violence by the defendant. In England and Wales, the penalty and mode of trial for this offence is pro ...

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on High DownHMP High Down - HM Inspectorate of Prisons Reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:High Down Prisons in Surrey Category C prisons in England 1990s establishments in England High Down