Closed 2013 Governor James Lucas | Managed by HM Prison Services Opened 1949 | |
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Location Tophill, Portland, Dorset Website The Verne at justice.gov.uk Security class Prisoner security categories in the United Kingdom | ||
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.
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History
The Verne Prison opened in 1949 within a former military citadel, which had been built between 1857–81, and designed by Captain W Crossman of the Royal Engineers, enclosing 56 acres to defend Portland Harbour. The Verne Citadel became a prison in 1949, while HM Prison Portland had become a Borstal Institution by this time. On 1 February 1949 an advance party of 20 prisoners arrived. The prison largely occupied the southern part of the citadel. 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.
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.
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. 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. 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.
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.
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.
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. 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.