27 July 2007
Cookham Wood prison in Kent is to change function from a female prison to a dedicated Young Offenders Institution for young men under the age of 18, Justice Minister David Hanson MP announced today.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and Youth Justice Board decided on the change of function in order to constructively manage the changing nature of the prison population. The move will create around 160 places in the male juvenile estate.
This move will ensure that more juvenile prisoners can be held nearer their homes and families, as the rise in the prison population has resulted in a shortage of places for under-18 year olds from London and the South East.
David Hanson MP, Minister of State for Justice, said:
"In order to continue to manage the prison estate effectively and safely we have to be able to react quickly to the constantly changing nature of the prison population, although the decision to change the function of any prison is never easy.
"Cookham Wood represents our best option to ensure more young men from London and the South East are being held in Young Offender Institutions nearer to their families and the communities they will return to.
"In its new role Cookham Wood will provide a positive and constructive environment that will enable the Prison Service robustly to address juvenile offending behaviour and tackle issues such as substance misuse to help prevent young people from reoffending on release.
"I have asked that a dedicated team within the National Offender Management Service work with the women currently at Cookham Wood on an individual basis to arrange transfers to other prisons that are best suited to meet their offending behaviour and rehabilitative needs."
NOMS is tackling pressures on the prison estate by building more capacity. A programme which will deliver 8,000 new prison places by 2012 was announced in July 2006
The Lord Chancellor announced plans to build a further 1,500 places on 19 June 2007. Work will start immediately on 500 of the extra places, the first of which will come into use in January 2008. The composition of the further 1,000 places will be decided in the light of Lord Carter's report into the long-term future of the prison estate and the supply and demand of prison places.
Notes to Editors
Cookham Wood was built in 1978, originally for young men, but its use was changed to meet the growing need for secure female accommodation at the time.
It is currently a closed prison for adult women in Kent. It has an operational capacity of 185 and a current population of 151 prisoners.
It holds mainly adult women prisoners but with a special unit (Sir Evelyn House) for young persons.