Open prison

An open prison (open jail) is any jail in which the prisoners are trusted to complete sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and are often not locked up in their prison cells. Prisoners may be permitted to take up employment while serving their sentence.

In the UK, open prisons are often part of a rehabilitation plan for prisoners moved from closed prisons.^[1] They may be designated "training prisons" and are only for prisoners considered a low risk to the public.

The idea of an open prison is often criticised by members of the public and politicians, despite its success towards rehabilitation compared to older, more draconian methods.^[2] Prisoners in open jails do not have complete freedom and are only allowed to leave the premises for specific purposes, such as going to an outside job.^[3] In Ireland, there has been controversy about the level of escape from open prisons, attributed to their use by the Irish Prison Service not just to transfer prisoners suitable for open conditions, but also to reduce overcrowding in closed prisons. The idea of open prisons is to rehabilitate prisoners rather than to punish them.^[4]

Examples of open prisons

India

Nettukaltheri Open Prison & Correctional Home, Thiruvananthapuram
Cheemeni Open Prison & Correctional Home, Kasaragod
Poojapura Women Open Prison & Correctional Home, Thiruvananthapuram
Yerwada Open Jail, in Yerwada, Pune, Maharashtra
Tihar Open Jail, in Delhi

Ireland

Loughan House, Blacklion, County Cavan, Ireland
Shelton Abbey Prison, Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland

Philippines

Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm^[5]

United Kingdom

England (men's)

England (women's)

HM Prison Askham Grange, York
HM Prison East Sutton Park, Kent

Wales

HM Prison Prescoed, Monmouthshire

Scotland

HM Prison Castle Huntly, Longforgan, Perth and Kinross

Offener Vollzug in Germany

In Germany the "Offener Vollzug" is part of the rehabilitation process for about 16% of prisoners.^[6]

In fiction

Trumble, a fictional open prison in Florida, is the major setting for John Grisham's novel The Brethren.

References

^ UK Government: Types of prison and security categories Retrieved 30 November 2022.
^ "'Skull Cracker' Michael Wheatley absconds from open prison". BBC News. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
^ James, Erwin (3 January 2011). "Why life in an open prison is no holiday camp". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
^ Reilly, Michael (6 May 2009). "Annual Report 2008". Office of the Inspector of Prisons.
^ Martinez Cantera, Angel L. (7 October 2015). "Life inside the Philippines' prison without walls". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
^ Justizvollzug: Strafgefangene nach Geschlecht, Alter und Art des Vollzugs, voraussichtliche Vollzugsdauer Archived 14 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany

[1] UK Government: Types of prison and security categories Retrieved 30 November 2022.

[2] "'Skull Cracker' Michael Wheatley absconds from open prison". BBC News. 5 May 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2022.

[3] James, Erwin (3 January 2011). "Why life in an open prison is no holiday camp". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2022.

[4] Reilly, Michael (6 May 2009). "Annual Report 2008". Office of the Inspector of Prisons.

[5] Martinez Cantera, Angel L. (7 October 2015). "Life inside the Philippines' prison without walls". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 10 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.

[6] Justizvollzug: Strafgefangene nach Geschlecht, Alter und Art des Vollzugs, voraussichtliche Vollzugsdauer Archived 14 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine from the Federal Statistical Office of Germany

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