Birmingham (HM Prison)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HM Prison Birmingham, known locally as Winson Green Prison is a Victorian local prison in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England.

The prison was built in 1849 for adult male prisoners. It serves the Crown and Magistrates' Courts of Birmingham, Stafford and Wolverhampton and the Magistrates' Courts of Burton, Cannock, Lichfield, Rugeley, Sutton Coldfield and Tamworth.

It has a capacity of 1456 prisoners, both convicted and on remand (as at 31 January 2006). Recently the prison has undergone a period of considerable change as a result of a multi-million pound investment programme by the Prison Service. 450 additional prisoner places have been added together with new workshops, educational facilities, a new healthcare centre and gymnasium as well as extensions and improvements to existing facilities.

[edit] Notable inmates

• Lee Hughes, former West Bromwich Albion striker, spent the early part of his six-year jail term for dangerous driving at the prison in 2004.
• Ozzy Osbourne, later frontman of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, served six weeks after he was arrested in the late 1960s.
• Fred West, alleged serial killer who arrived on remand in May 1994. He committed suicide in his cell on New Years Day 1995, before he could be brought to trial.

[edit] External links

• HM Prison Service page
• 2002 inspection report
• BBC News (2001): Jail 'among worst in UK'

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