HM Prison Peterborough is a Category B

private prison A private prison, or for-profit prison, is a place where people are imprisoned by a third party that is contracted by a government agency. Private prison companies typically enter into contractual agreements with governments that commit pris ...

for men, and a

closed prison Closed prisons are prisons with the high level of supervision of the inmates. The opposite is an open prison. Closed prisons may have further categorization in terms of security. Finland , of the 28 prisons in Finland, 70% of inmates are in closed ...

for women and female young offenders, located in

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

, Cambridgeshire, England. The prison is operated by

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 ...

, and is the only dual purpose-built prison holding males and females in the United Kingdom. The prison, which has a population of around 1,100 inmates, comprises four large wings, each with a separate housing arrangement for female detainees and male detainees. It is managed by the Newton Secure Training Centre (NSTC), and the associated training centre, which operates under Sodexo Services, comprises 26 housing units, ranging from 12-storey purpose built units to 10-storey semiprivate accommodation units.

History

HMP Peterborough was built on the site of the former

Baker Perkins Baker Perkins Ltd is a British engineering company for food processing equipment headquartered in Peterborough, England. Its product portfolio offers different technologies and applications for the bread, biscuit, confectionery, snack, and break ...

engineering works. It opened in 2005, despite protests from local residents. The Prison Service stated that Peterborough, as a 'mixed-use' prison, would become a blueprint for future prisons. The prison was involved in controversy when it advertised for two holistic therapists to offer inmates

reflexology Reflexology, also known as zone therapy, is an alternative medical practice involving the application of pressure to specific points on the feet, ears, and hands. This is done using thumb, finger, and hand massage techniques without the use of ...

aromatherapy Aromatherapy is a practice based on the use of aromatic materials, including essential oils and other aroma compounds, with claims for improving psychological well-being. It is used as a complementary therapy or as a form of alternative medic ...

and Indian head massages. The MP for

, Stewart Jackson accused the prison of pampering inmates and sending out the wrong message to hard-working families. In January 2008, a national table of prisons compiled by the Prison Service revealed that the prison had performed worst out of 132 prisons and prison clusters, with low marks for reducing re-offending, organisational effectiveness and decency. A month later, women prisoners complained that the food served at the jail was too high in calories, and made them put on weight. Officials at the prison claimed that healthy options were always available. In January 2013, the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

announced that an additional houseblock will be constructed at the prison, increasing its capacity. On 13 April 2018, a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

bomb disposal team deployed a bomb disposal robot to interact with a silver

Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/ small family car ( C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplate ...

at the prison. Authorities later stated they had been responding to a reported bomb but it proved to be a hoax.

Notable inmates

Male

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

, Prolific criminal from Northampton. * Dennis McGrory,

double jeopardy In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare cases ...

rapist and murderer. * Nicholas Prosper, shot dead his mother, brother and sister and planned to commit a mass shooting at a school.

Female

* Lucy Connolly, former childminder, and wife of West Northamptonshire councillor, sentenced to 31 months over social media posts inciting hatred during the

2024 United Kingdom riots From 30 July to 5 August 2024, Far-right politics in the United Kingdom, far-right, anti-immigration protests and riots occurred in England and Northern Ireland, within the United Kingdom. This followed a 2024 Southport stabbing, mass stabbin ...

* Rekha Kumari-Baker, woman who stabbed to death her own two children in 2007 *

Lucy Letby Lucy Letby (born 4 January 1990) is a British former neonatal nurse who was convicted of the murders of seven infants and the attempted murders of seven others between June 2015 and June 2016. Letby came under investigation following a high ...

, neonatal nurse who murdered numerous babies that were in her care * Virginia McCullough, woman who killed her parents in 2019 and continued to live in the family home for four years; sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 36 years in 2024. * Chelsea O'Mahoney, part of a group of youths convicted of the "

happy slapping Happy slapping was a fad originating in the United Kingdom around 2005, in which one or more people attack a victim for the purpose of recording the assault (commonly with a camera phone or a smartphone). Though the term usually refers to relativ ...

" homophobic killing of David Morley in 2005 * Emma Tustin, woman convicted of torturing and murdering her step-son in June 2020. Sentenced in 2021.

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on Peterborough

Sodexo Justice Services page on Peterborough
Prisons in Cambridgeshire Category B prisons in England Women's prisons in England Buildings and structures in Peterborough 2005 establishments in England Private prisons in the United Kingdom Sodexo Justice Services {{UK-prison-stub