Dartmoor prison may close as part of Government modernisation plans

Discussions are set to begin with the Duchy of Cornwall to end the lease on HMP Dartmoor, a male category C prison in West Devon, according to a statement from the Ministry of Justice.

While the Justice department says final decisions on the site are a long way off as the lease has a ten-year notice period, but but the age and limitations of the prison mean that it does not have a long-term future in a modern, cost-effective prison system and future options for the site will be discussed.

The Victorian prison, a famous, or perhaps infamous, site on the Dartmoor landscape near Princetown, is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. It opened in 1809 and has a rich history; originally built as a high-security prison, it now has Category C status housing mainly non-violent and white collar offenders within its six wings, despite its rather more severe reputation.

The Government set out the next stage in its prison modernisation programme on Wednesday 4 September, with the future of HMP Dartmoor under consideration, among other institutions in Wales, Dorset, Yoorkshire and the South East,

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said:

“This is the latest part of our plan to modernise our prisons, bring down costs, but to make sure that by the next election we still have access to more prison places than we inherited in 2010."

He continued: “Of course the reorganisation of our prison estate which we are undertaking means some difficult decisions – but we have to make sure that we have modern, affordable prisons that give the best opportunity for us to work with offenders to stop them committing more crimes when they leave.”

Responding to the Government's broader announcement, The Howard League for Penal Reform said:

“Today’s announcement by the Ministry of Justice is a mixed bag and I fear ministers are making long-term decisions to meet immediate budget pressures without underpinning those decisions with bold leadership and vision.

“Closing failing prisons is the right move to make but without a coherent strategy to reduce prison numbers it will make the problem of overcrowding worse.

“The government finds itself closing prisons with one hand while proposing to build new supersized prisons with the other, prisons that will be too large to manage effectively and which will store up many more problems for future administrations.

“Building new prisons in the place of old ones merely repeats the mistakes of the past.

“Given crime continues to fall year on year, Chris Grayling should grasp the nettle and start making the case that we simply do not need to put so many people behind bars in the first place.”

The Government says the changes form part of overall plans that will reduce the cost of prison to taxpayers by more than £500m within this Spending Review period.