History
Lancaster Farms Prison opened in March 1993 as a Young Offenders Institution and remand centre. Two new units were opened at the site in June 1996, doubling the prison's capacity. In May 2001 two of the prison's units were re-roled to hold juvenile prisoners.
In August 2001 The Howard League for Penal Reform claimed that conditions at Lancaster Farms Prison failed to meet standards laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Research found evidence of bullying, limited access to daylight or open air, lack of specialist training for staff and lack of individual care for inmates at the prison.
In July 2003 Lancaster Farms was found to be one of the five highest performing prisons in England and Wales. The league table was compiled by Her Majesty's Prison Service.
In April 2007 a report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons stated that conditions were improving at Lancaster Farms, and that the prison maintained a reasonably safe and respectful environment. However the report criticised the amount of time inmates spent in their cells, and urged improvement in the prison's anti-bullying procedures and education opportunities.
Over the course of 2008 and 2009, all remaining juvenile inmates were transferred from Lancaster Farms to other prisons. Since then Lancaster Farms has only held Young Offenders aged 18 to 20.
Read more about this topic: Lancaster Farms (HM Prison)
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