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 Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The populati ...

) in

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Thorn Cross 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 Wal ...

History

Thorn Cross Prison opened in 1985, on the site of the former

RNAS Stretton (HMS Blackcap) Royal Naval Air Station Stretton (HMS ''Blackcap''), was an airfield in the village of Appleton Thorn, though named for the neighbouring village of Stretton, south of Warrington, in Cheshire, England. Although the main runway remains, the no ...

airfield. Thorn Cross was initially used as an

open prison An open prison (open jail) is any jail in which the prisoners 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 w ...

for adult males. In 1996, the prison was re-roled as a young offenders

boot camp Boot camp may refer to: Training programs * Boot camp (correctional), a type of correctional facility for adolescents, especially in the U.S. penal system * Boot camp, a training camp for learning various types of skills ** Dev bootcamp, a de ...

institution. At the time, Thorn Cross was the first such institution in the United Kingdom to enforce military-style disciplinary regime for some of its inmates, which led to a part of the prison (unit 5) being labelled a boot camp. In January 1999, an inspection report from

His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales. The current chief inspe ...

labelled Thorn Cross Prison as an inspirational example of good practice. In particular the report praised the prison's High Intensity Training (HIT) project, and recommended it be rolled out to other prisons. In October 2005, a further inspection report highly praised Thorn Cross Prison, again highlighting the prisons HIT programme. The report also noted that Thorn Cross managed to reduce re-offending amongst its ex-inmates to just over 20 per cent, one of the best rates in the country. The report added that the prison had to do more to improve relations with the local community however.

Current status

HM Prison Thorn Cross is a Category D adult male institution for males aged 21+. Accommodation consists of single rooms, each prisoner having his own room key. Education and training courses offered at the prison include construction crafts, motor vehicles,

horticulture Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

, hospitality and

catering Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and r ...

and rail construction ( NVQ level 2). Thorn Cross has a number of partnerships with national and local employers, offering opportunities for work placements prior to, and on release.

Notable inmates

* Troy Deeney, former

Watford Watford () is a town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal en ...

footballer who served 16 weeks in prison for assault * Kelvin Etuhu, the third prison the professional footballer was in during his eight-month sentence for assault

References

External links

Ministry of Justice pages on Thorn Cross
{{Authority control Prisons in Cheshire Thorn Cross 1985 establishments in England Category D prisons in England