
An open prison (open jail) is any jail in which the
prisoner
A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison.
...
s are trusted to complete sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and are often not locked up in their prison cells. Prisoners may be permitted to take up employment while serving their sentence.
In the UK, open prisons are often part of a
rehabilitation plan for prisoners moved from closed prisons. They may be designated "training prisons" and are only for prisoners considered a low risk to the public.
The idea of an open prison is often criticised by members of the public and politicians, despite its success towards rehabilitation compared to older more draconian methods. Prisoners in open jails do not have complete freedom and are only allowed to leave the premises for specific purposes, such as going to an outside job. In Ireland, there has been controversy about the level of escape from open prisons, attributed to the use of the prison by the
Irish Prison Service
The Irish Prison Service (IPS) () manages the day-to-day operation of prisons in the Republic of Ireland. Political responsibility for the Ireland's prisons rests with the Minister of the Department of Justice.
Budget, staff, and figures
As of 2 ...
to transfer prisoners unsuitable for open conditions but to reduce overcrowding in the closed prisons. The idea of open prisons is to rehabilitate prisoners rather than to punish them.
Examples of open prisons
India
*
Nettukaltheri Open Prison & Correctional Home,
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
*
Cheemeni
Cheemeni is a small town in Hosdurg taluk of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India.
Demographics
As of the 2011 India census, Cheemeni had a population of 8,283 with 3,908 males and 4,375 females.
Transportation
Local roads have acce ...
Open Prison & Correctional Home,
Kasaragod
Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala an ...
*
Poojapura
Poojappura known as "The heart of Trivandrum" is a Suburb of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in India. It is located in the south-east part of the city, surrounded by Jagathi, Karamana, Mudavanmugal and Thirumala. This place was once used as ...
Women Open Prison & Correctional Home,
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
*
Yerwada Open Jail, in
Yerwada
Yerawada is a neighbourhood of the city of Pune in the state of Maharashtra, India. Before that British Raj Yerawada was known as ''Yeraoda.'' Yerawada is one of the most densely populated areas in Pune. It is located at the beginning of Ahmedn ...
,
Pune
Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...
,
Maharashtra
*
Tihar Open Jail, in
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders wi ...
Ireland
*
Loughan House
Loughan House Open Centre (; ) is a low-security, open detention centre in Blacklion, County Cavan, Ireland. It was purchased by the Department of Justice in 1972 to be converted to a prison facility. It is low security, and caters for male inma ...
, Blacklion, County Cavan, Ireland
*
Shelton Abbey Prison
Shelton Abbey () on the north bank of the Avoca near Arklow County Wicklow, is a penal institution operated by the Irish Prison Service (IPS).
Shelton Abbey was the ancestral seat of the Earls of Wicklow until 1951 when financial difficulties ...
, Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland
United Kingdom
;;England (men's)
*
HM Prison Ford
HM Prison Ford (informally known as Ford Open Prison) is a Category D men's prison, located at Ford, in West Sussex, England, near Arundel and Littlehampton. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
Air Force and Navy use
The ...
,
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
,
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an a ...
*
HM Prison Leyhill
HM Prison Leyhill is a Category D men's prison, located in the parish of Tortworth in Gloucestershire, England. Leyhill Prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
History
Leyhill Prison was originally a United States military hospital ...
,
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming par ...
*
HM Prison Hatfield
HM Prison Hatfield (formerly HMP & YOI Moorland Open) is a Category D men's prison and Young Offenders Institution, located near Hatfield Woodhouse in South Yorkshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
History
I ...
,
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial and metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of Doncaster and Sheffield as well as the boroughs of Barnsley and Rotherham.
I ...
*
HM Prison Haverigg
HM Prison Haverigg is a Category D men's prison, located in village of Haverigg (near Millom) in Cumbria, and historically in Cumberland, England. The prison is situated just outside the Lake District National Park.
Haverigg Prison is operat ...
,
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...
*
HM Prison Hewell
HM Prison Hewell is a multiple security category men's prison in the village of Tardebigge in Worcestershire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
On 16 October 2019, the Ministry of Justice announced that HMP Hew ...
,
Worcestershire
*
HM Prison Thorn Cross
HM Prison Thorn Cross is a Category D Adult Male Institution for males aged 18-25. The prison is located in the village of Appleton Thorn (near Warrington) in Cheshire, England. Thorn Cross is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
Histor ...
,
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...
*
HM Prison Hollesley Bay
HM Prison Hollesley Bay, known locally as Hollesley Bay Colony (to which signposts still point) or simply The Colony, is a Category D men's prison and Young Offender Institution, located in the village of Hollesley, about 8 miles (13 km) f ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...
*
HM Prison Kirkham,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a Historic counties of England, historic county, Ceremonial County, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significa ...
*
HM Prison Kirklevington Grange,
North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by national parks, including most of the Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors. It is one of four cou ...
*
HM Prison North Sea Camp
HM Prison North Sea Camp is a men's open prison ( Category D), located on the edge of the parish of Freiston (near Boston) in Lincolnshire, England. North Sea Camp is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
History
North Sea Camp opened as a B ...
,
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershir ...
*
HM Prison Spring Hill,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-eas ...
*
HM Prison Standford Hill
HM Prison Standford Hill (Sheppey Cluster) is a Category D men's prison, located close to the village of Eastchurch on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent. Standford Hill forms part of the Sheppey prisons cluster, which also includes HMP Elmley and HM ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
*
HM Prison Sudbury,
Derbyshire
Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the no ...
;;England (women's)
*
HM Prison Askham Grange
HM Prison Askham Grange is a women's open category prison, located in Askham Richard village in North Yorkshire, England. The prison is run by His Majesty's Prison Service.
History
H.M. Prison Askham Grange was opened in January 1947 as a wome ...
, York
*
HM Prison East Sutton Park
HM Prison East Sutton Park is a women's open prison and young offender's institute located in the Parish of East Sutton, near Maidstone in Kent, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison & Probation Service.
History
East Sutton P ...
,
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
;;Wales
*
HM Prison Prescoed,
Monmouthshire
;;Scotland
*
HM Prison Castle Huntly,
Longforgan
Longforgan is a village and parish in the Carse of Gowrie, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies west of Dundee on the main A90 road.
History
A record survives of Sir Patrick Gray, as Baron of Longforgan, holding a baronial court here in 138 ...
,
Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland an ...
Offener Vollzug in Germany
In Germany the "Offener Vollzug" is part of the rehabilitation process for about 16% of prisoners.
Justizvollzug: Strafgefangene nach Geschlecht, Alter und Art des Vollzugs, voraussichtliche Vollzugsdauer
from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany
The Federal Statistical Office (german: Statistisches Bundesamt, shortened ''Destatis'') is a federal authority of Germany. It reports to the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
The Office is responsible for collecting, processing, presenting and ...
In fiction
Trumble, a fictional open prison in Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
, is the major setting for John Grisham's novel ''The Brethren
Brethren, also called "brothers", are male siblings.
(The) Brethren may refer to: Groups and organizations
*Brethren (religious group), any of a number of religious groups
*Brethren (Australian group), an Australian hip hop group
*Brethren, an ea ...
''.
See also
*Prison security categories in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, prisoners are divided into four categories of security. Each adult is assigned a category, depending on the crime committed, the sentence, the risk of escape, and violent tendencies. The categories are single letters, in a ...
*House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Open Prison
Prisons