Information regarding the twenty-one prisons chosen for this study is presented in Table 1 overleaf. The prisons selected were the seven operational PFI prisons, the two privately managed prisons and 12 public sector prisons which between them provided the best comparators to the nine private sector prisons. In choosing the 12 public sector comparators, we took into consideration the category of the core prison, whether or not they had Category A prisoners, the size of the prison population and any other special factors. To aid us in this decision-making process, we consulted the PFI contracts, looked at recent work by the Prison Service on costs which identified comparator prisons, and finally, consulted with our reference panel. As a result, Table 2 overleaf shows how we matched the public and the private sector prisons for our 2002 study.
It is important to bear in mind that the prisons chosen for this study were not drawn randomly from the prison estate; hence we take care to avoid using in our report the potentially misleading term 'sample'. In particular, with reference to our traffic light matrix, we emphasise that the rating of performance is relative to those prisons in our study and therefore not necessarily an absolute case with regards to the prison estate i.e. Lancaster Farms, Swansea and Parc are rated joint top in our traffic light matrix but this does not necessarily mean that they are the best prisons in the prison estate.
Table 1: Information on the prisons chosen for our study
Management type | Prison | Year of opening | Average population 2001/02 | Core type | Category A security | Special factors |
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PFI prison | Altcourse | 1997 | 850 | male local | yes |
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PFI prison | Ashfield | 1999 | 377 | closed YOI | n/a | juvenile:YOI 75:25 |
Public | Brinsford | 1991 | 451 | closed YOI | n/a | juvenile:YOI 50:50 |
Public | Bullingdon | 1992 | 933 | Category B (trainer) | no |
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Public | Chelmsford | 1830 | 501 | male local | no |
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Privately managed | Doncaster | 1994 | 1084 | male local | yes |
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PFI prison | Dovegate | 2001 | 500* | Category B (trainer) | no | therapeutic community restrictions |
PFI prison | Forest Bank | 2000 | 1040 | male local | no | takes Young Offenders |
Public | Garth | 1988 | 613 | Category B (trainer) | no |
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Public | Grendon | 1962 | 231 | therapeutic community | no | takes those who are committed to therapeutic environment. |
Public | High Down | 1992 | 714 | male local | yes |
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Public | Lancaster Farms | 1993 | 499 | closed YOI | no | juvenile:YOI 40:60 |
Public | Lewes | 1853 | 500 | male local | no | no YOs since March 2002 |
PFI prison | Lowdham Grange | 1998 | 495 | Category B (trainer) | no |
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Public SLA | Manchester | 1868 (rebuilt in 1990) | 1246 | male local | yes |
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PFI prison | Parc | 1997 | 920 | male local | no | takes juveniles |
Public | Pentonville | 1842 | 1175 | male local | no |
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PFI prison | Rye Hill | 2001 | 591 | Category B (trainer) | no | emphasis on rehabilitative programmes |
Public | Swaleside | 1988 | 752 | Category B (trainer) | no |
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Public | Swansea | 1861 | 260 | male locsal | no |
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Privately managed | The Wolds | 1992 | 405 | Category C | no |
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NOTE * Dovegate was not operational for the full year in 2001/02. Source: National Audit Office | ||||||
Table 2: How the public sector prisons are used as comparators to the private sector prisons
Prison | Altcourse | Ashfield | Dovegate | Forest Bank | Lowdham Grange | Parc | Rye Hill |
High Down | YES |
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Brinsford |
| YES |
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Lancaster Farms |
| yes |
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Garth |
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| yes |
| yes |
| yes |
Grendon |
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| YES* |
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Swaleside |
|
| yes |
| yes |
| YES |
Chelmsford |
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| yes |
| yes |
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Manchester (SLA) | yes |
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Swansea |
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| yes |
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Pentonville |
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| YES |
| yes |
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Bullingdon |
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| yes |
Lewes |
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| yes |
| yes |
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Capitals: | Best comparator (if possible to decide) | |
Lower case: | Also a good comparator | |
*Grendon acts as best comparator with Dovegate's therapy centre | ||
■ Public sector prison | ■ PFI Prison | |
Source: National Audit Office | ||