HM Prison Wetherby

Wetherby Young Offenders Institution is a male juveniles prison, located in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England. The YOI is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.[2]

Wetherby Young Offenders Institution
Wetherby YOI and prison houses adjacent
LocationWetherby, West Yorkshire
Security classJuvenile Males
Population300 (as of May 2023[1])
Opened1958
Former nameHM Prison Wetherby
Managed byHM Prison Services
GovernorPeter Gormley
WebsiteWetherby at justice.gov.uk

History

Formerly a Naval Base, HMS Ceres, Wetherby was introduced into the Prison System in 1958 as a Borstal.[3][4] Since that time there have been many changes in its role from an open Youth Custody Centre, to a closed Youth Custody Centre, to its current role as a dedicated Male Juvenile Prison housing inmates aged between 15 and 17 years.[5]

It houses offenders who are from Humberside, North, South and West Yorkshire and parts of Lancashire and Greater Manchester. Its functional capacity is 276 detainees,[6] however, the Ministry of Justice list the operational capacity as being 336 detainees.[7]

In February 2016, it was revealed that all of the detainees were on lockdown due to rising levels of violence against staff and other detainees.[8] The unrest continued for two months and culminated in a Prison Officer being stabbed.[9]

The prison today

All living accommodation in the prison is in single occupancy cells. The living accommodation is split into 6 living units (Anson, Benbow, Collingwood, Drake, Exmouth & Frobisher)[4] housing 60 trainees in each.[7] There are two brick-built units that were built in the 1970s and 4 "quick-build" ready-to-use units that were erected in 1997. An additional self-contained unit for vulnerable boys in custody has officially opened in 2009 by the Youth Justice Board, the Keppel Unit holds up to 48 boys aged 15–17, offering enhanced support including individual care plans, extended enrichment opportunities exclusive to Keppel Unit; such as the weekly 'Park Run', where the trainees are offered the chance to stroll or compete for lap times around the pond and surrounding recreational pitches, and small animals where the trainees can handle and assist in the caring of rabbits & the various breeds of duck.[3] The enhanced supervision unit (ESU), Napier, was opened in 2019 able to provide additional care and support for 6 young males.[10]

Wetherby's Education Programme (offered on a half-time basis) is provided by Novus.[11] Courses are provided in a variety of subjects and individual timetables are developed to meet the trainees' needs in conjunction with the sentence planning process. The establishment has a Chaplaincy Team for both staff and trainees. There are weekly services, an Ecumenical Service for Church of England and other Free Churches, a Roman Catholic service as well as Muslim prayers and non-exclusive prayer sessions for those of other faiths. A team of three full-time chaplains, as well as part-time and sessional chaplains meet the needs of trainees and staff as well as providing extracurricular group sessions to assist in socialisation opportunity for the trainees. The prison has a small Health Care Centre which is run by nursing staff who provide 24-hour medical cover. A doctor attends the establishment in the mornings.[12]

Refreshments are available to visitors and prisoners in the visits room during visiting hours and vending machines are also available.[13]

Cadet unit

Wetherby is home to the United Kingdom's only behind-bars army cadet unit. It aims to allow the cadets to decouple from the social circles that caused them to offend and offers basic life and organisational skills as found in the British Army.[14]

Notable inmates

References
  1. "Prison population". data.justice.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 June 2023. Use the slider to access Wetherby data
  2. "Wetherby Young Offender Institution has "deteriorated" report says". BBC News. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  3. Hill, Amelia (6 April 2012). "Inside Keppel: finding freedom in a children's prison". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  4. "General Details, HMYOI Wetherby". dointime.org.uk. Doing Time. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  5. Hardwick, Nick (June 2015). "Report on an unannounced inspection of HMYOI Wetherby by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons" (PDF). justiceinspectorates.co.uk. Justice Inspectorates. p. 7. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  6. "HMYOI Wetherby". doingtime.co.uk. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  7. "Wetherby Prison information". justice.gov.uk. Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  8. Holliday, John (17 October 2016). "Young offenders confined to cells in prison officers' protest". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  9. "Officer stabbed at Wetherby Young Offenders Institute". BBC News. 11 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  10. "Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMYOI Wetherby" (PDF). Independent Monitoring Boards. September 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  11. "Locations Novus". novus.ac.uk. Novus. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  12. Hardwick, Nick (June 2015). "Report on an unannounced inspection of HMYOI Wetherby by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons" (PDF). justiceinspectorates.co.uk. Justice Inspectorates. pp. 14–41. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  13. "Visits and getting there, HMYOI Wetherby". doingtime.org.uk. Doing Time. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  14. "Meet The UK's Only Cadet Unit Behind Bars". Forces Network. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  15. "Will Cornick faces downhill path from young offender institution to prison". The Guardian. 3 November 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
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