Prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom
October 23, 2023
In the United Kingdom, prisoners are divided into four categories of security. Each adult is assigned to a category according to their crime, sentence, the risk of escape, and violent tendencies. The categories are designated with the letters A to D, with A being the highest level of security, and D the lowest.
Prisons in England and Wales are divided into several categories relating to the age, gender and security classification of the prisoners it holds.[1]
Male adult prisonersEdit
Male adult prisoners (those aged 18 or over) are given a security categorisation soon after they enter prison. These categories are based on a combination of the type of crime committed, the length of sentence, the likelihood of escape, and the danger to the public if they were to escape. The four categories are:[1]
Prison type
Category
Prison description
Closed prison
A (High Security)
Those whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or national security, thus necessitating maximum security conditions. Offences that may result in consideration for Category A or Restricted Status include [attempted] murder, manslaughter, [attempted] rape, sexual assault, armed robbery, wounding with intent, kidnapping, importing or supplying Class A controlled drugs, possessing or supplying explosives, offences connected with terrorism and offences under the Official Secrets Act.[2]
B
Those who do not require maximum security, but for whom escape still needs to be made very difficult.
C
Those who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who are unlikely to try to escape
Those who can be reasonably trusted not to try to escape, and are given the privilege of an open prison. Prisoners at "D Cat." (as it is commonly known) prisons, are, subject to approval, given ROTL (Release On Temporary Licence) to work in the community or to go on "home leave" once they have passed their FLED (Full Licence Eligibility Dates), which is usually a quarter of the way through the sentence.
Category A, B and C prisons are called closed prisons, whereas category D prisons are called open prisons.
Category A prisoners are further divided into Standard Risk, High Risk, and Exceptional Risk, based on their likelihood of escaping.[3]
Men on remand are held in Category B conditions with the exception of some of those who are held to be tried on (very) serious offences. These men are held in "Provisional Category A" conditions.
Escape List prisonersEdit
Prisoners who have made active attempts to escape from custody are placed on the holding prison's Escape List. These prisoners (sometimes referred to as "E men" or "E List men") are required to wear distinctive, brightly coloured clothing when being moved both inside and outside of the prison and are handcuffed. In addition they are required to change cells frequently and to have their clothes and some of their personal property removed from their cell before being locked in for the night.
Female adult prisonersEdit
Women are also classified into four categories. These categories are:[1]
Restricted Status is similar to Category A for men.
Closed is for women who do not require Restricted Status, but for whom escape must be made very difficult.
Semi-open was introduced in 2001 and is for those who are unlikely to try to escape, but cannot be trusted in an open prison. This has been phased out; HMP Morton Hall and HMP Drake Hall were re-designated as closed in March 2009.
Open is for those who can be safely trusted to stay within the prison.
Remand prisoners are always held in closed prisons.
ChildrenEdit
When children under 18 are sentenced or remanded in custody, they may be sent to one of three types of establishment depending on their needs, age, vulnerability and the nature of the offence they have been accused or convicted of:
Young Offender Institutions(YOIs) which are prison based establishments very similar to adult prisons that hold those convicted and remanded for offences but that only hold males aged 15–20 (ages 15–17 and ages 18–20 are housed separately) and who are not classed as vulnerable.
Secure Training Centres(STCs) which are secure custody establishments but that focus more on things such as education, welfare, health and support rather than traditional prison style punishment. They hold convicted males aged 12–14 and females aged 12–17 in separate accommodation, and males aged 15–17 can also be held if they are classed as vulnerable.
Secure Children's Homes(SCHs) which are similar to STC's in that they mainly focus on things like education, welfare, health and support rather than traditional prison style punishment. They hold very young males and females aged 10–11 convicted or remanded usually for only serious offences. Though males and females aged 12–14 can be held also if they are classed as vulnerable. Additionally males and females all the way up to the age of 17 can be held if they are refused bail and remanded (but not yet convicted) to be held by local children's authorities (and not the prison service) usually if they are more vulnerable, at risk or a YOI is not suitable. It should also be noted that not all children held in SCHs have necessarily been convicted, remanded or accused of crimes, some are held by court orders on safety grounds under legislation such as the Children Act 1989 due to things like their history of absconding from regular open children's care homes, risk of committing harm to themselves or others, or those at high risk of vulnerability from things such as forms of abuse, illicit drugs use and child prostitution.
Prisoner categories in ScotlandEdit
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008)
Since 2002, in Scotland, prisoners have been assigned to one of three categories:[4]
High Supervision: an individual for whom all activities and movements require to be authorised, supervised and monitored by prison staff.
Medium Supervision: an individual for whom activities and movements are subject to locally specified limited supervision and restrictions.
Low Supervision: an individual for whom activities and movements, specified locally, are subject to minimum supervision and restrictions. Low Supervision prisoners may be entitled to release on temporary licence and unsupervised activities in the community.
Prisoner categories in Northern IrelandEdit
Prisoners (adult and young, male and female) are classified in a similar way to the English/Welsh system:[5]
Category
Prison description
A
Prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public, the police or the security of the state
B
Prisoners for whom maximum security is not necessary, but for whom escape must be made very difficult
C
Prisoners who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who do not have the resources or will to make a determined escape attempt
D
Prisoners who can reasonably be trusted in open conditions. However, there are at present no open prisons in Northern Ireland.
U
Remand, awaiting trial (also known as "hold for court") or awaiting sentence prisoners are Unclassified (U), although they are placed in Category A or B conditions.
^ abc"Prison Walkthrough - Questions". Understanding your sentence. Criminal Justice System. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
^Category A Function (PDF). National offender Management Service (Report). 2 March 2015. p. 6. Retrieved 1 November 2020.
^. Prison Service Instruction 03/2010. HM Prison Service. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original (DOC) on 25 August 2011.
^"What is the Prison Supervision S.gov.uk//Default.aspx?DocumentID=ac2a1c7b-19a6-4cfd-bb9f-31e7ada281f2". Scottish Prison Service. from the original on 15 June 2011. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
^Dickson, Brice; Gormally, Brian (26 February 2015). Human Rights in Northern Ireland: The Committee on the Administration of Justice Handbook. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 179. ISBN978-1-78225-505-5.
External linksEdit
HM Prison Service
Young Offenders Institutions
Howard League for Penal Reform
October 23, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message In the United Kingdom prisoners are divided into four categories of security Each adult is assigned to a category according to their crime sentence the risk of escape and violent tendencies The categories are designated with the letters A to D with A being the highest level of security and D the lowest There are three different prison services in the United Kingdom and separate services for the three Crown Dependencies His Majesty s Prison Service manages prisons in England and Wales and also serves as the National Offender Management Service for England and Wales Prisons in Scotland are managed by the Scottish Prison Service and prisons in Northern Ireland are managed by the Northern Ireland Prison Service The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands have their own prison administrations Contents 1 Prisoner categories in England and Wales 1 1 Male adult prisoners 1 2 Escape List prisoners 1 3 Female adult prisoners 1 4 Children 2 Prisoner categories in Scotland 3 Prisoner categories in Northern Ireland 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksPrisoner categories in England and Wales EditPrisons in England and Wales are divided into several categories relating to the age gender and security classification of the prisoners it holds 1 Male adult prisoners Edit Male adult prisoners those aged 18 or over are given a security categorisation soon after they enter prison These categories are based on a combination of the type of crime committed the length of sentence the likelihood of escape and the danger to the public if they were to escape The four categories are 1 Prison type Category Prison descriptionClosed prison A High Security Those whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or national security thus necessitating maximum security conditions Offences that may result in consideration for Category A or Restricted Status include attempted murder manslaughter attempted rape sexual assault armed robbery wounding with intent kidnapping importing or supplying Class A controlled drugs possessing or supplying explosives offences connected with terrorism and offences under the Official Secrets Act 2 B Those who do not require maximum security but for whom escape still needs to be made very difficult C Those who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who are unlikely to try to escapeOpen prison D Those who can be reasonably trusted not to try to escape and are given the privilege of an open prison Prisoners at D Cat as it is commonly known prisons are subject to approval given ROTL Release On Temporary Licence to work in the community or to go on home leave once they have passed their FLED Full Licence Eligibility Dates which is usually a quarter of the way through the sentence Category A B and C prisons are called closed prisons whereas category D prisons are called open prisons Category A prisoners are further divided into Standard Risk High Risk and Exceptional Risk based on their likelihood of escaping 3 Men on remand are held in Category B conditions with the exception of some of those who are held to be tried on very serious offences These men are held in Provisional Category A conditions Escape List prisoners Edit Prisoners who have made active attempts to escape from custody are placed on the holding prison s Escape List These prisoners sometimes referred to as E men or E List men are required to wear distinctive brightly coloured clothing when being moved both inside and outside of the prison and are handcuffed In addition they are required to change cells frequently and to have their clothes and some of their personal property removed from their cell before being locked in for the night Female adult prisoners Edit Women are also classified into four categories These categories are 1 Restricted Status is similar to Category A for men Closed is for women who do not require Restricted Status but for whom escape must be made very difficult Semi open was introduced in 2001 and is for those who are unlikely to try to escape but cannot be trusted in an open prison This has been phased out HMP Morton Hall and HMP Drake Hall were re designated as closed in March 2009 Open is for those who can be safely trusted to stay within the prison Remand prisoners are always held in closed prisons Children Edit When children under 18 are sentenced or remanded in custody they may be sent to one of three types of establishment depending on their needs age vulnerability and the nature of the offence they have been accused or convicted of Young Offender Institutions YOIs which are prison based establishments very similar to adult prisons that hold those convicted and remanded for offences but that only hold males aged 15 20 ages 15 17 and ages 18 20 are housed separately and who are not classed as vulnerable Secure Training Centres STCs which are secure custody establishments but that focus more on things such as education welfare health and support rather than traditional prison style punishment They hold convicted males aged 12 14 and females aged 12 17 in separate accommodation and males aged 15 17 can also be held if they are classed as vulnerable Secure Children s Homes SCHs which are similar to STC s in that they mainly focus on things like education welfare health and support rather than traditional prison style punishment They hold very young males and females aged 10 11 convicted or remanded usually for only serious offences Though males and females aged 12 14 can be held also if they are classed as vulnerable Additionally males and females all the way up to the age of 17 can be held if they are refused bail and remanded but not yet convicted to be held by local children s authorities and not the prison service usually if they are more vulnerable at risk or a YOI is not suitable It should also be noted that not all children held in SCHs have necessarily been convicted remanded or accused of crimes some are held by court orders on safety grounds under legislation such as the Children Act 1989 due to things like their history of absconding from regular open children s care homes risk of committing harm to themselves or others or those at high risk of vulnerability from things such as forms of abuse illicit drugs use and child prostitution Prisoner categories in Scotland EditThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it June 2008 Since 2002 in Scotland prisoners have been assigned to one of three categories 4 High Supervision an individual for whom all activities and movements require to be authorised supervised and monitored by prison staff Medium Supervision an individual for whom activities and movements are subject to locally specified limited supervision and restrictions Low Supervision an individual for whom activities and movements specified locally are subject to minimum supervision and restrictions Low Supervision prisoners may be entitled to release on temporary licence and unsupervised activities in the community Prisoner categories in Northern Ireland EditPrisoners adult and young male and female are classified in a similar way to the English Welsh system 5 Category Prison descriptionA Prisoners whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public the police or the security of the stateB Prisoners for whom maximum security is not necessary but for whom escape must be made very difficultC Prisoners who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who do not have the resources or will to make a determined escape attemptD Prisoners who can reasonably be trusted in open conditions However there are at present no open prisons in Northern Ireland U Remand awaiting trial also known as hold for court or awaiting sentence prisoners are Unclassified U although they are placed in Category A or B conditions See also EditHis Majesty s Prison Service Howard League for Penal Reform List of prisons in the United Kingdom Scottish Prison ServiceReferences Edit a b c Prison Walkthrough Questions Understanding your sentence Criminal Justice System Archived from the original on 8 September 2009 Retrieved 13 September 2009 Category A Function PDF National offender Management Service Report 2 March 2015 p 6 Retrieved 1 November 2020 Category A Prisoners Reviews of Security Category Prison Service Instruction 03 2010 HM Prison Service 1 March 2010 Archived from the original DOC on 25 August 2011 What is the Prison Supervision S gov uk Default aspx DocumentID ac2a1c7b 19a6 4cfd bb9f 31e7ada281f2 Scottish Prison Service Archived from the original on 15 June 2011 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a External link in code class cs1 code title code help Dickson Brice Gormally Brian 26 February 2015 Human Rights in Northern Ireland The Committee on the Administration of Justice Handbook Bloomsbury Publishing p 179 ISBN 978 1 78225 505 5 External links EditHM Prison Service Young Offenders Institutions Howard League for Penal Reform Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom amp oldid 1176284911 Male adult prisoners, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
