HM Prison Stoke Heath is an adult male Category C

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 ...

and

Young Offenders Institution In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...

, located in the village of Stoke Heath (near

Market Drayton Market Drayton is a market town and civil parish on the banks of the River Tern in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is close to the Cheshire and Staffordshire borders. It is located between the towns of Whitchurch, Shropshire, Wh ...

) in

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

History

Stoke Heath was built in 1964 as a Category C prison for adult males. It was converted to a

Borstal A borstal is a type of youth detention centre. Such a detention centre is more commonly known as a borstal school in India, where they remain in use today. Until the late 20th century, borstals were present in the United Kingdom, several mem ...

2 years later and, up until 2011, was used to hold Young Offenders. The establishment now houses prisoners over the age of 18. During the weekend of 7-8 April 1990, a 24-hour rooftop protest by prisoners took place in apparent solidarity with the

Strangeways Prison riot The 1990 Strangeways Prison riot was a 25-day prison riot and rooftop protest at Strangeways Prison in Manchester, England. The riot began on 1 April 1990 when prisoners took control of the prison chapel, and quickly spread throughout most of t ...

then going on in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. At the beginning of December 2004 the

Howard League for Penal Reform The Howard League for Penal Reform is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921 ...

accused Stoke Heath of abusing the

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

of young offenders. The Howard League’s main criticism was concerned with the use of strip cells by the staff of Stoke Heath. In October 2006 four prison officers were injured in a riot involving more than 30 inmates at Stoke Heath. None of the inmates were injured during the disturbance. In 2007 a spot inspection criticized Stoke Heath for failing to make improvements recommended in a 2005 inspection. The inspectorate recommended that the prison must refurbish its "unacceptably grubby" segregation unit and establish proper risk assessments for strip searches. In 2013 Stoke Heath implemented the pepper course to help reintegrate offenders back into the community using the pepper principals.

The prison today

Stoke Heath houses male adults and Young Offenders of 18 years and above. Because of this, education and training for inmates is the main focus of the prison. Education and training courses are provided by

The Manchester College The Manchester College is the largest further education college in the United Kingdom and the largest single provider of 16–19, adult and higher education in Greater Manchester, with more than 25% of Greater Manchester’s learning provision ...

. A variety of courses and vocational training placements are offered, most of which can lead to

NVQ National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are practical work-based awards in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland that are achieved through training and assessment. The regulatory framework supporting NVQs was withdrawn in 2015 and replaced by th ...

qualifications in related fields. In addition, the prison's

gym A gym, short for gymnasium (: gymnasiums or gymnasia), is an indoor venue for exercise and sports. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasion". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learn ...

and sports department offer various

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

courses, as well as being available for recreational use. The prison also has a multi-faith

chaplaincy A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intelligen ...

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on Stoke Heath
{{Prisons in the West Midlands Stoke Heath Stoke Heath Stock Heath Stoke Heath