History
Parc was the first prison in the UK to be built under the Government's Private Finance Initiative. Previously the site of Parc Prison used to be a psychiatric hospital until it was closed down, and patients either moved to other hospitals in the area or into the community.
The new prison (which cost £82 million to develop) opened in 1997. Parc was designed to be a hi-tech prison, with computer systems, swipe cards and personalised voice identification equipment. By using computer and surveillance equipment, G4S cut down the number of staff needed in the prison and increased security, making it more difficult for prisoners to escape.
However from its opening, Parc Prison was beset with problems. Failures in the prison security technology, anti-English racism from Welsh inmates, and a high number of suicides were all highlighted as concerns by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in a 1999 report. However in March 2001, a new report from the Chief Inspector noted a major improvement in standards at Parc Prison.
In August 2004, the Independent Monitoring Board issued a report stating that Parc Prison had been rated as the worst performing privately-run prison in Wales and England. The report criticised the lack of separate health-care facilities for juveniles at the prison, the inadequate level of dental provision for all prisoners, and issues of staff morale
Read more about this topic: Parc (HM Prison)
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