As of 2024, there are 122 prisons in England and Wales of which 105 are run by His Majesty’s Prison Service. The remainder are privately operated prisons run by private companies. With effect from March 2024, there were 97,300 prisoners of which 87,900 were in England and Wales.
The Labour government has recently activated Operation Early Dawn to deal with the prison population. Read more on that from us here.
The prisons are split into men’s, women’s and Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) all over England and Wales. Some are in very remote areas whereas others are in a central part of a city or town, often providing jobs for the local community. The vast majority of prisons have been in existence for many years although with the current pressures on prison space, new prisons being built are inevitable over the coming months and years.
Read more about the prison service here.
What is a prison regime?
All prisons have their own routine (known as a regime) that sets out:
What time prisoners are locked and unlocked from their cells;
Work and education times;
Lunch and visiting times;
Any time for exercise, leisure activities or making phone calls (known as association).
The regime for each prison will often depend on the category associated with that prison and whether the individual is in custody serving a sentence or being held on remand, which means they are in custody awaiting the outcome of their case.
Prison Categories
The prisons in England and Wales are given particular categories, which determine the level of security in place at that establishment.
When someone is sent to prison they will be given a categorisation based on:
Risk of escape;
Harm to the public, if they were to escape;
Threat to the control and stability of a prison.
This assessment is carried out by the Offender Management Unit at the relevant prison and will be reviewed at particular points during the sentence.
The categories range from category A (highest security) down to category D (lowest security).
Male Prison Categories
Category A: These are high security prisons. They house male prisoners who, if they were to escape, pose the most threat to the public, the police or national security.
Category B: These prisons are either local or training prisons. Local prisons house prisoners that are taken directly from court in the local area (sentenced or on remand), and training prisons hold long-term and high-security prisoners.
Category C: These prisons are training and resettlement prisons; most prisoners are located in a category C. They provide prisoners with the opportunity to develop their own skills so they can find work and resettle back into the community on release.
Category D: These are generally open prisons and have minimal security and allow eligible prisoners to spend most of their day away from the prison on licence to carry out work, education or for other resettlement purposes. Open prisons only house prisoners that have been risk-assessed and deemed suitable for open conditions.
Women and young adults
Women and young adults are categorised and held in either closed conditions or open conditions, according to their risks and needs.
Females and young adults who're considered high risk are categorised as ‘restricted status’, meaning they can only be held in a closed prison. In exceptional cases, women and young adults may be held in a high security prison (category A).
Youth offenders
Young Offender Institution (YOI): These prisons house prisoners aged between 18 to 21.
Youth Custody: These establishments house young people under the age of 18 who have been remanded or sentenced to periods of detention by the courts.
How often are prisoners categorisation reviewed?
Prison staff assess prisoners when they are first sentenced and at specified points through the sentence depending on the length of sentence passed. The review is to identify whether they are still in the right prison category. If the prisoners' risks are assessed as sufficiently raised or lowered, prison staff can take action to transfer them to the more appropriate security prison.
If a prisoners' sentence is:
Between 1 year and 4 years, they’ll be assessed every 6 months;
More than 4 years, they’ll be assessed every year until the last 2 years of their custodial sentence, when they will be assessed every 6 months;
In a category A prison, prison staff work with the Prison Service Head Office to check security;
In a category D prison, then prisoners will not need to be recategorised unless their risks have changed.
Convicted and sentenced prisoners can be recategorised at any time if something has occurred, or new information has emerged, that might affect their risks.
Can a prisoner appeal against their category?
If a prisoner is unhappy with their re-categorisation after their assessment, they can appeal by putting in a complaint through the prison complaint system which is carried out by the prison itself. The prison staff are then responsible for providing the reasons behind their decision.
Read more from the Ministry of Justice on prisoner categorisation here.
Legal disclaimer: Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein is accurate at the date of publication but please note that the law is ever changing and evolving. If you require advice in relation to any matter raised in this article please contact a member of the team.