Kingston (HM Prison)

Infobox HM Prison
name = HMP Kingston


size =
caption =
opened = 1877
type = Adult Male/Category B
figures = 199 (September 2007)
location = Portsmouth, Hampshire
governor = Ian Telfer
prisonid = 464

Introduction HM Kingston Prison is located in central Portsmouth in England. It shares its name with many towns and cities in the UK including an area of Portsmouth called Kingston, although this is now divided into 3 areas which are now: Fratton, North End & Buckland.

HM Kingston is mainly a 'lifers' prison referring to it being mainly holding inmates with life sentences. Kingston was a Category A prison, but is now a Category B prison with a wing for Category C prisoners. as well.

The beginning

The prison was built by Portsmouth, hence why - unlike most prisons -the jail has the county's logo with the writing: 'Heavens Light Our Guide' (Source: Lock it, Prove it). The railway system was built before the prison; however, the reason for its location was officially unknown. Nevertheless, a simple personalised reason (by one of the former prisaon Governors) was provided: it was simply built on one of the only pieces of land which was available at the time (Source: Lock it, Prove it).

History

From the documentary, 'Lock It, Prove It', the programme explained that the prison had a varied history. At one point, the building was used for boys' borstal, but then became a police station during WW2. Eventually, during the 1970s, capital punishment was stopped in the UK and, as a result, a number of male lifers (i.e. whose sentence who were perhaps related to domestic violence) went to Kingston. This was originally intended as an experiment set by the state. Nevertheless, there were advantages of using Kingston Prison as a lifer's unit. Firstly, it was smaller compared to other male prisons. Also, it had focused on one type of prisoner: Category B lifers. As one ex-Governor explained, this was important as one prison regime was considered (Source: 'Lock It, Prove It' documentary).

Population

During 2005, Bournemouth University reported that Kingston was accommodating over 190 prisoners. This was statically lower population of prisoners than many other male prisons, such as Frankland (Male Cat. A) and Wayland (Male Cat. C), who both housed over 700 in-mates (HM Prison Service, 1996).

Opportunities and achievements

Like Many other prisons in the UK, Kingston Prison provided opportunities for individuals who were serving life sentences, such as entering into competitions (Source: Lock it, Prove it).The Kingston Arrows, the prison's football team, regularly played against the other local football teams within the Portsmouth region (Hulme, 2000). They have been successful with previous matches, considering they have been known to stay in the top section of the local area's football league (Hulme, 2000). Despite winning several matches, the prison never authorized any away games; therefore, home matches were permitted by admitting football players only into the prison (Hulme, 2000).

Apart from sport, Kingston won the Windlesham Trophy for the best-kept gardens and grounds within the prison walls (The Guardian, 2001). Other numerous events in Kingston prison include the opening of their printing industry (Source: Lock it, Prove it). Plus, the jail first gained computers from IBM, in which prisoners gained computer training, as well as being provided other forms of education (Source: Lock it, Prove it). Finally, like with most prisons, the residents of Kingston have opportunities of being occupied with jobs and roles (Source: Lock it, Prove it).

Minor set backs

There have been less pleasant moments from HMP Kingston, including one prisoner absconding from a local hospital (Source: Lock it, Prove it). Also, some prisoners have been known to climb over the building's walls and escape from the prison - these incidents would have been reported by the press fairly quickly! (Source: Lock it, Prove it). Nevertheless, one previous Governor did confirm that a prison officer from Kingston was once taken hostage (in a prison cell) by an inmate (Source: Lock it, Prove it).

Openly known residences

The BBC News Online reported the following residents who, at one point of their sentence, lived at Kingston prison: - Arichibald Hall, aka 'The Mad Butler', for served some of his time at HMP Kingston for murdering five people, during the late 1970s. - Raphael Rowe, an associate of the 'M25 Three'. - Anthony Sawoniuk, who was found guilty for assassinating several people from the jewish community during WW2, served some of his time in Kingston prison before living his final days within another prison.

Other facts and trivia

During an interview, one previous prison Governor explained there was an opening of the Governor's house for the prison officers to use (Source: Lock it, Prove it). Usually, the Governor lived on the prison grounds, but one former Governor did not wish to pursue this and decided the potential home should be used by employees (Source: Lock it, Prove it). At another point, dogs were not used to patrol the prison grounds, but officers were used instead to ensure prisoners did not throw anything across the prison's walls (Source: Lock it, Prove it).

References

* [http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/prisoninformation/locateaprison/prison.asp?id=464,15,2,15,464,0 HMP Service - Prison Information - Kingston]

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3e0i2YusU0 Lock It Prove It]

* [http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/05-06/0506939.pdf HM Prison Service - Serving Time: Prisoner Diet and Exercise]

* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2001/jan/29/prisonsandprobation.estheraddley Prisons: the best and worst]

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/2381449.stm] 'Mad Butler' dies in prison

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/572840.stm] Long wait for justice

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/dorset/2934823.stm] Prison unit for elderly 'unacceptable'

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4413786.stm] Nazi war criminal dies in Britain

* ["Manslaughter United: A Season With A Prison Football Team" (Hulme, 2000)] http://www.amazon.co.uk/Manslaughter-United-Season-Prison-Football/dp/022405175X/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221910040&sr=8-5