| HMP Shrewsbury | |
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Main entrance to HMP Shrewsbury |
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| Opened | 1793 |
| Management | HM Prison Service |
| Prison type | Adult Male/Category B&C |
| Prisoner figures | 340 (December 2007) |
| Location | Shrewsbury, Shropshire |
| Governor | Gerry Hendry |
| Information | www.justice.gov.uk |
HM Prison Shrewsbury is a Category B/C men's prison, located in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.
The prison is located on Howard Street, adjacent to Shrewsbury railway station, and is near to the site of the Dana Gaol (where a medieval prison once stood before the railway station was built). The name The Dana is still often used for the prison, as well as being the name of the road to one side of the prison and the pedestrian route that runs from near the front of the prison into the town centre via a footbridge over the station.
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There has been a prison on the site since 1793, but the present prison was built in 1877. Between 1902 and 1961 the following six people were executed by hanging within the walls of HMP Shrewsbury for the crime of murder:-
The names of their victims appear in parentheses. In every case the murder victim was female. Executions took place at 8.00 am. All executed prisoners were buried in unmarked graves inside the prison, as was customary.
In September 2004, Member of Parliament George Stevenson, called for an enquiry into the amount of suicides which had occurred at Shrewsbury Prison. This came after 3 inmates had hanged themselves at the jail in 2 weeks.[1]
Since 2004, Shrewsbury has been labelled as one the most overcrowded prisons in the UK. According to Home Office figures, the prison is the only one in England and Wales operating above what is described as its maximum safe overcrowding level. A report in 2005 named Shrewsbury prison as the most overcrowded in England and Wales and this continues to be the case to the present day. In August 2008 a new report stated that the prison had 178 places in use but currently holds 326 inmates - an overcrowding rate of 183%.[2]
Shrewsbury is a Category B/C prison accepting adult males from the local courts in its catchment area. Over 60% are classified “vulnerable”. Accommodation at the prison consists of double occupancy cells in mostly Victorian buildings. The prison lies on a hill and has little room nearby to expand. It is bordered by the River Severn, Shrewsbury railway station, a residential area and the railway station's car park. However, there are currently no proposals to relocate the prison.
The prison offers education and workshops to inmates. A Listener Scheme is also available to prisoners at risk of suicide or self harm.
One interesting feature of the building is the bust of John Howard, (the prison reformer) mounted above the main entrance to the prison. The street leading up to the prison from the nearest main road is named after him.
Shrewsbury is currently the most overcrowded prison in England and Wales - with an 'in-use CNA level' of 196% in early December 2011 (down from 198 % in late November 2011).
A lack of adequate screening and ventilation of toilet facilities render none of the cells suitable to house more than one prisoner.
The prison is mentioned in "On Moonlit Heath and Lonesome Bank" which is part of "A Shropshire Lad" by A E Housman
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