HM Prison The Verne

HMP The Verne

Built on the highest point of Portland, the Verne is surrounded by cliffs and a moat, with two entrances - one via a footbridge and one via this tunnel
Location	Tophill, Portland, Dorset
Security class	Adult Male/Category C
Opened	1949
Managed by	HM Prison Services
Governor	James Lucas
Website	The Verne at justice.gov.uk

View of the moat and western cliff from the south west.

HM Prison The Verne was a Category C men's prison, located within the historic Verne Citadel, on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. It was operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service, and occupied the southern part of the citadel. The prison was converted into an Immigration Removal Centre, which opened in March 2014. However the Verne officially remained a prison until September 2014.

History

The Verne Prison opened in 1949 within a former military citadel dating from the end of the nineteenth century. In 1847 a start was made on temporary prison buildings at nearby Grove Point, Portland, for prisoners building the Portland Breakwater. These convicts together with civilian contractors and the Royal Engineers were employed on the creation of the Verne Citadel, as part of major defensive works built to defend the new Portland Harbour and its approaches. This massive fortress together with other forts and gun batteries, and the breakwater itself, was one of Victorian Britain's greatest government-funded engineering projects. The Verne Citadel was designated by Captain W Crossman of the Royal Engineers and enclosed an area of fifty-six acres.

After 1937 the Verne became primarily used as an infantry training centre. During the Second World War it resumed a similar role as to World War I, as a heavy anti-aircraft battery.^[1] For a short while after World War II, the Verne was used to train newly conscripted recruits of the corps of the Royal Engineers, who would be the last military personnel at the citadel, and these left in 1948. When the citadel was declared redundant for military use at this time, the citadel was left abandoned with the potential of becoming a tourist attraction, similar to Weymouth's Nothe Fort which later became a major tourist attraction and museum. For a short period the citadel was a popular place to explore for adolescents.

In 1948 a circulating rumour had built-up that the citadel was to become a prison. The government soon confirmed these suspicions, and the citadel was set to become a training centre for 200 'Star Class' prisoners. A strong protest followed, however this did not deter the plans, and the following year saw the opening of the second prison on the island.^[2] The Verne was handed over to the prison commission, and a party of 20 prisoners arrived on 1 February 1949. Since becoming established the interior of the prison was substantially rebuilt by prison labour, and the modern prison, a Category C prison for adult males, gained a considerable training programme for its prisoners who were serving either medium and long term sentences, including life sentences.^[3]

Conversion work has destroyed some of the Victorian features, but various things such as the ditch, earthworks, tunnels and casemates would become scheduled Ancient Monuments. Allowing a form of public access for the first time, in November 2011, the prison service, opened a cafe in an old officer's mess building within the citadel. The Jailhouse Cafe continues to operate to date, offering experience to prisoners in attempts to reduce reoffending. It today uses prisoners on day release from HM Prison Portland.^[4]

In October 2011 a new governor, James Lucas, took over and with his deputy, promised to bring change and tackle the prison's issues. This followed a report by the Independent Monitoring Board the month before that highlighted several areas of concern within the prison. These included problems with illegal phones, heroin and staffing issues causing "greater tension in the prison".^[5]

In May 2013 it was announced that the Verne prison was likely to become a Home Office immigration unit housing 600 detainees awaiting deportation from the UK. Under threat of closure, the prison was identified as a good location for the centre.^[6] On 4 September 2013, the Ministry of Justice announced the decision to convert the prison into an immigration removal centre for 600 detainees awaiting deportation.^[7] The prison closed in November 2013, with all prisoners being transferred to other suitable prisons, and work to change the function of the prison began immediately. It was also announced that existing staff would continue to run the site but the Home Office will meet the costs of its operation. The planned re-role came as part of a wider programme to modernise the prison estate, and the nearby HM Prison Dorchester would be closed in December 2013.^[8]

With a set opening date in February 2014, it was instead announced in March 2014 that the immigration removal centre plans were officially put on hold until September. However, the Prison Service announced that the empty prison will still begin to take on immigration detainees that month, and will still remain known as HMP The Verne. It began holding detainees from 24 March 2014. The expected build-up to its total capacity of 580 will be completed by September 2014, and until then the National Offender Management Service are to retain the site as a prison, exclusively holding immigration detainees on behalf of the Home Office.^[9]

Prison regime and layout

The prison is classed as an open prison because prisoners are in rooms rather than cells and have their own key. The population housed life sentence prisoners and determinate sentenced prisoners, many serving four years or over. About sixty per cent of the prisoners were foreign nationals, with over fifty different nationalities represented.Over half of the prisoners are foreign nationals with more than 50 different nationalities represented. It has historically been characterised by a strong sense of community and very good staff-prisoner relationships. The men it held often had more freedom within the confines of the prison than is usually the case in a category C training prison.^[10] As of 15 May 2009, there were 595 convicts at the prison.^[11]

In 1970 three accommodation blocks were built, along with nine dormitories (known as D Wing). Each accommodation block was divided into two, which gave the prison a total of six separate wings (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2). Each of the six wings held eighty rooms on their second and third floors, while the ground floors would be used as association, dining and office areas. All prisoners were given keys to their rooms, and access to twenty-four hour sanitation facilities. The D wing features dormitory accommodation within its casemates, and it was from this wing that the Kainos Programme operated from. This provided rehabilitative services to prisoners and through-the-gate mentoring. The dormitories were divided into eight cubicles with an association area in each one, which provided accommodation for 72 men in total.^[12]

The education and training at the prison were outsourced to four contractors, and education was offered on a part-time only basis, with emphasis on Basic and Key Skills, IT and ESOL. An Information Advice and Guidance centre was open to prisoners, with a facility for private study and open learning, while embedded learning was available in all work situations. The prison offered courses in bricklaying, plastering, painting and decorating, as well as accredited qualifications offered in contract services, carpenters assembly, gymnasium, kitchen (BICS Learning Centre), fork lift truck driving, electrical wiring, and industrial cleaning. The Job Centre Plus operated from the prison twice a month, and other facilities included a community centre for prisoners, a shop and a gymnasium. A large grass sports field was laid for football, softball and cricket, as well as two hard court areas used for tennis.^[13]

Visiting times of the prison were set on weekends for social visits from 13:30-15:30pm, and official visits on Thursdays at the same time.^[14]

Inspection reports

The Verne was an open-style prison with walls but work has been undertaken in recent years to strengthen the perimeter. It has been praised as an effective jail but various aspects of its work have come in for criticism.

In November 2005, an inspection report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons criticised The Verne for weaknesses in its anti-bullying and suicide prevention policies. The report stated that safety at the prison had "deteriorated significantly" since its last inspection, and that the needs of foreign national prisoners were not being met. However the report said that the prison had made progress in improving its training provision for inmates, and work to prepare prisoners for release had also improved.^[15]

During 2008, the prison was criticised to such an extent for not meeting the needs of inmates that Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers believed the best option would be to turn it into a centre exclusively for foreign prisoners.^[16] However in recent years the prison had been praised as an effective prison which needed to develop better employment and resettlement opportunities. The inspectors found that there were low levels of violence, good staff-prisoner relationships, and that the Jailhouse Café was a successful social enterprise. The prison also maintained strong links with local employers. Some criticism noted in the report that weak justification was used for transferring prisoners, and that prisoners from black and minority ethnic communities and Muslim prisoners were more negative about the prison than the rest of the population.^[17]

Escapes

In 1955, an inmate called John Hannan escaped from The Verne using knotted sheets to scale the prison wall. Hannan had been sentenced to 21 months in the prison for car theft and assaulting two police officers. Escaping with a fellow inmate just a month into his sentence, the pair made their way along the railway line that used to run to the mainland from Portland. A tracker dog lost their scent near the Portland's naval base. The pair broke into a local petrol station and stole beer, cigarettes and overcoats. Although Hannan's companion was recaptured, Hannan himself continued to evade capture for many years, so that by 2001, he entered the record books as having been on the run longer than any other prisoner in the world.^[18]

In 1995/96 there were five escapes from the prison, six in 1996/7, one in 2001/02, five in 2004/05 and two in 2005/06.^[19] In August 2004, a convicted burglar, Alvin Harvey, escaped from the prison in a laundry van to visit his sick mother. The inmate used the metal edge of a lighter to cut his way through the canvas of a prison service lorry, and then caught a taxi to see his mother in Hampshire. The convict subsequently gave himself up to police 2 days later in Surrey, and pleaded guilty to escaping from custody, criminal damage and making off without paying the £120 taxi fare. Harvey had been informed about his mother's condition in a letter from his sister, and was given an additional eight months to run concurrently with his current sentence.^[20]

In January 2006 two prisoners, Paul Stewart and Kristian Dolinski, escaped the prison wearing prison uniforms. Stewart was serving nine years for robbery, and Dolinski serving a little under five years for burglary. The pair were spotted jumping over the wall of the prison, and 30 minutes later by an off-duty prison officer on Portland Beach Road. The officer's attempt to recapture them was unsuccessful, as they escaped into the darkness. Police began searching the area and put up road blocks.^[21][22]

References

External links

• Aerial photo of HM Prison The Verne. Other map and aerial photo sources.
• Ministry of Justice pages on The Verne
• Historic pictures of the Verne Citadel and Prison

Coordinates: 50°33′44″N 2°26′09″W / 50.5621°N 2.4358°W / 50.5621; -2.4358

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