{{Short description|Type of prison in the United Kingdom}} {{Use British English|date=October 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} The '''dispersal prisons''' are five secure prisons in the United Kingdom that house Category A prisoners. The idea of the prisons was initiated after a report submitted by Earl Mountbatten in 1966 after some notorious prison escapes. It was decided that special secure units should be built to enable the allocation of Category A prisoners to them, but to also allow the prison authorities the option to 'disperse' a prisoner to one of the other units at short notice. Whilst seven secure units were intended, the actual number has fluctuated over the years with a core selection of five still remaining.<ref name=":TG:">{{cite news|last1=Travis|first1=Alan|title=UK government considers single secure jail unit for Islamist terrorists|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/feb/12/government-considers-single-supermax-jail-islamist-terrorists|accessdate=2 October 2017|work=The Guardian|date=13 February 2016}}</ref>
==History== During the 1960s in Britain, several notorious and high-profile prisoners escaped from jails across the United Kingdom (Charles Wilson, Ronnie Biggs and George Blake). After the sensational escape of George Blake, a report was commissioned by the government to be chaired by Earl Mountbatten.<ref group="note">Report of the Inquiry into Prison Escapes and Security, December 1966, by The Earl Mountbatten of Burma: implementation of treatment and rehabilitation of prisoners</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=George Blake (Escape from Prison): 24 Oct 1966: House of Commons debates - TheyWorkForYou|url=https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=1966-10-24a.649.1|website=theyworkforyou.com|accessdate=2 October 2017}}</ref> The report recommended that all prisoners be categorised either A, B, C or D, according to their security risk, escape risk and danger to the general public. Category A prisoners were those deemed to be the worst and Category D prisoners were afforded the right to wander around the prison estate (within reason).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Joyce|first1=Peter|title=Criminal justice : an introduction|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|location=New York|isbn=9780415620628|page=302|edition=2}}</ref>
Mountbatten's proposal was for one fortress-style super-prison (called HMP Vectis on the Isle of Wight) where all the prisoners could be housed together in an 'Alcatraz-style' unit; however, following the Radzinowicz Report in 1968,<ref group="note">The Radzinowicz Report 1968: The Regime for Long-Term Prisoners in Conditions of Maximum Security. Report of the Advisory Council on the Penal System</ref> it was decided to build secure units to hold the Category A prisoners at seven locations.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Cuneen|editor1-first=Chris|editor2-last=Anthony|editor2-first=Thalia|title=The critical criminology companion|date=2008|publisher=Hawkins Press|location=Leichhardt, N.S.W.|isbn=9781876067236|page=244}}</ref> In this way, Category A prisoners could be 'dispersed' within any of the seven secure locations and the ability to move them at short notice was retained.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Davies|first1=Michael|last2=Croall|first2=Hazel|last3=Tyrer|first3=Jane|title=Criminal Justice|date=2009|publisher=Pearson Longman|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4058-5880-9|page=439|edition=4|chapter=13: Prisons}}</ref> The seven secure prisons were preceded by two Special Security Wings at Durham and Leicester prisons, but the two wings were not fit for purpose as they were in pre-existing jails and adapted from existing buildings which were not as secure as a purpose-built prison would be.{{sfn|Woodcock|1994|p=9}}
In early 2016, it was reported that the UK government was considering using just one unit to house all its Islamist Terrorists as per Mountbatten's original recommendation. Critics pointed out that this would lead to further radicalisation of the non-religious prison community.<ref name=":TG:" /> In 2016, eight high security prisons existed across England and Wales; Belmarsh, Frankland, Full Sutton, Long Lartin, Manchester, Wakefield, Whitemoor and Woodhill.<ref>{{cite web|title=High security|url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/high-security|website=www.justice.gov.uk|accessdate=3 October 2017}}</ref> Only five of these are classified as dispersal prisons; Frankland, Full Sutton, Long Lartin, Wakefield and Whitemoor<ref>{{cite news|title=Improvements at murder-hit prison|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-22346526|accessdate=3 October 2017|work=BBC News|date=30 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Travis|first1=Alan|title=Gang culture flourishing in top-security jail Long Lartin, report by chief inspector of prisons reveals|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/jan/13/prisons-long-lartin-gang-culture-islam|accessdate=3 October 2017|work=The Guardian|date=13 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Hayden|title=High-security prisoners 'segregated for up to two years', report finds|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/prison-segregation-two-years-hmp-whitemoor-high-security-jails-a7859951.html|accessdate=3 October 2017|work=The Independent|date=25 July 2017}}</ref> with Belmarsh, Manchester and Woodhill being described as 'Core Local' prisons.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Travis|first1=Alan|title=Officials warn of terrorist links to prison gangs|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/mar/03/prisons.terrorism.uk|accessdate=3 October 2017|work=The Guardian|date=3 March 2008}}</ref>
Arguments for and against the Dispersal system have been ongoing since first proposed by Radzinowicz in 1968. The idea of dispersal is that one prison is not overburdened with category A prisoners and the prisoners themselves can be accommodated within a larger prison population. The downside to this is that the system is expensive and that it places additional security on establishments housing Category B prisoners.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Flynn|first1=Nick|title=Introduction to prisons and imprisonment|date=1998|publisher=Waterside Press|location=Winchester|isbn=1-872-870-37-6|page=51|chapter=3: Prisons}}</ref>
==The prisons== {| class="wikitable" !Name !Location !Opened as Dispersal !Notes !Date ceased as Dispersal |- |Albany |Isle of Wight |1970 |Original planned location by Mountbatten for all Category A prisoners<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hughes|first1=Mark|title=HMP Frankland's brutal regime – the inside story|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/hmp-franklands-brutal-regime-ndash-the-inside-story-1925392.html|accessdate=2 October 2017|work=The Independent|date=23 March 2010}}</ref> |1992<ref>{{cite web|title=Isle of Wight Prison information|url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/isle-of-wight|publisher= Ministry of Justice|accessdate=3 October 2017}}</ref> |- |Belmarsh |London |1991 |Was a dispersal site up to 2008; has a High Security Unit (HSU) that houses Category A prisoners in segregation from the other prison population<ref>{{cite web|title=Report of an unannounced inspection of HMP Belmarsh|url=https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/05/Belmarsh-2015-web.pdf|publisher=HM Inspectorate of Prisons|accessdate=3 October 2017|page=29|format=PDF|date=May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160804141024/https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspections/hmp-belmarsh/|archive-date=2016-08-04}}</ref> so is not officially classed as a dispersal prison<ref>{{cite book|last1=Smith|first1=Noel 'Razor'|title=The criminal alphabet: an A–Z of prison slang|date=2015|publisher=Penguin Books|location=London|isbn=9780141038568|page=47|edition=1}}</ref> |2008 |- |Frankland |County Durham |1983 |The first purpose built Dispersal Prison and the largest in terms of inmate population (around 850 prisoners)<ref>{{cite web|last1=Clarke|first1=Peter|title=Report of an unannounced inspection of HMP Frankland|url=https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/06/Frankland-Web-2016.pdf|publisher=HM Inspectorate of Prisons|accessdate=2 October 2017|pages=5–7|format=PDF|date=June 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20160804122645/http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspections/hmp-frankland/|archive-date=2016-08-04}}</ref> | |- |Full Sutton |East Yorkshire |1987 |Purpose-built high-security prison, houses 600 inmates<ref>{{cite web|title=Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Full Sutton|url=https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2016/05/Full-Sutton-web-2016.pdf|publisher=HM Inspectorate of Prisons|accessdate=3 October 2017|page=7|format=PDF|date=May 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20221203133928/https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspections/hmp-full-sutton/|archive-date=2022-12-03}}</ref> | |- |Gartree |Leicestershire |1967 |Gartree was changed to a Category B prison in 1992<ref>{{cite news|title=Life behind bars, a prison officer's tale|url=http://www.harboroughmail.co.uk/news/life-behind-bars-a-prison-officer-s-tale-1-4892917|accessdate=2 October 2017|work=Harborough Mail|date=19 March 2013}}</ref> |1992<ref>{{cite web|title=Gartree Prison|url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/gartree|publisher=Ministry of Justice|accessdate=3 October 2017}}</ref> |- |Hull |East Yorkshire |1969 |Designated in 1969, removed from the Dispersal list in 1986<ref>{{cite web|title=Hull Prison information|url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/hull|publisher=Ministry of Justice|accessdate=2 October 2017}}</ref> |1986 |- |Long Lartin |Worcestershire |1971 |Upgraded prison to Category A in 1973<ref>{{cite web|title=HMP Long Lartin|url=https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/03/Long-Lartin-web-2014.pdf|publisher=HM Inspectorate of Prisons|accessdate=3 October 2017|page=7|format=PDF|date=March 2015}}</ref> | |- |Parkhurst |Isle of Wight |1966 |Parkhurst ceased to be a Dispersal Prison after a prisoner escape in 1995<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cusick|first1=James|title=The Parkhirst[sic] Breakout: Fugitives were trapped by the sea|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/the-parkhirst-breakout-fugitives-were-trapped-by-the-sea-1567295.html|accessdate=2 October 2017|work=The Independent|date=10 January 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Eight of the most audacious prison escapes ever|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/eight-audacious-prison-escapes-ever/|accessdate=2 October 2017|work=The Telegraph|date=27 July 2017}}</ref> |1995 |- |Wakefield |West Yorkshire |1966 |Designated as a Dispersal Prison in 1966; the longest serving of the original group<ref>{{cite web|title=Wakefield Prison information|url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/wakefield|publisher=Ministry of Justice|accessdate=2 October 2017}}</ref> | |- |Whitemoor |Cambridgeshire |1991{{sfn|Woodcock|1994|p=10}} |Opened in 1991 as a purpose built Category A prison<ref>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=Noel|title=Behind the gate|url=https://insidetime.org/behind-the-gate-8/|website=insidetime|accessdate=3 October 2017|date=29 September 2017}}</ref> | |}
==Notes== {{reflist|group="note"}}
==References== {{reflist}}
===Sources=== *{{cite report|last=Woodcock|first=John|title=Report of the enquiry of the escape of six prisoners from the special security unit at Whitemoor Prison, Cambridgeshire on 9th September 1994|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/272031/2741.pdf|year=1994|format=PDF|publisher=The Home Office|location=London}}
==External links== *[https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/272031/2741.pdf Woodcock enquiry into the 1994 Whitemoor prison escape]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dispersal prisons}} Category:Category A prisons in England Category:Dispersal prisons Category:Penal system in England