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Super prison location mystery
Thursday 6th December 2007, 11:47AM GMT.
A huge new super-jail housing 2,500 prisoners is to be built in the West Midlands – but nobody knows where.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced last night that three new “Titan” prisons would be built in the three regions most under strain from overcrowding – the South East, the West Midlands and the North West.
Officials said the new jail would be built on a so-called “brownfield” site, but made it clear that no site had yet been identified. The Titan prisons will be bigger than any built before in the United Kingdom, covering the size of around 30 football pitches.
Government officials will now begin the search for suitable sites in the knowledge that almost any proposal will meet with local opposition.
Read the full story in the Express & Star.
A huge new super-jail housing 2,500 prisoners is to be built in the West Midlands – but nobody knows where.
Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced last night that three new “Titan” prisons would be built in the three regions most under strain from overcrowding – the South East, the West Midlands and the North West.
Officials said the new jail would be built on a so-called “brownfield” site, but made it clear that no site had yet been identified. The Titan prisons will be bigger than any built before in the United Kingdom, covering the size of around 30 football pitches.
Government officials will now begin the search for suitable sites in the knowledge that almost any proposal will meet with local opposition.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “No potential sites have been identified at this stage, but the intention is that these prisons will be built on brownfield sites with good transport links to the areas which have greatest demands for housing offenders, therefore allowing reasonably easy access for families and friends.
“We are moving away from some of the capacity developments in recent years that have expanded prisons in isolated rural locations with poor public transport services.”
It is not clear whether the Titan jail proposal would be in addition to an expected application for a 1,000-inmate new institution at Featherstone Prison, near Wolverhampton.
The Prison Governors’ Association warned the super-jails would run an increased risk of lack of control. But ministers stressed they would be split into five separate units, each housing 500 prisoners.
Mr Straw announced a £1.6 billion prison building and expansion programme which would raise the prisons capacity by 15,000 from the current 81,000 to 96,000 over seven years.
In addition to the Titan jails, a prison ship is to be ordered from Holland, and the former military camp at Coltishall, Norfolk, is to be turned into a jail for 500.
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what’s wrong with building an Alcatraz,it’s the best deterant,and of no worry to the innocent of this blessed land.
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I wonder what criteriawas used to opt to situate the largest prison in the United Kingdom and probably the largest in Europe, in the West Midlands. Is it because that is where there is the highest rate of crime? And if so why? If so, could it be prisons that we want or we should do something to improve the appauling state of the standard of people’s lives. What we need are schools, training institutions and some incentives to motivate people to take up these self impovement opportunities. More rigorous programmes to make all sectors of society aware of what opportunities are available to them so they can take advantage of them which l think is not the case at the moment. From the positive angle of it, the project will generate lots of employment, but against what numbers incacerted when the centre reaches its full capacity of 2,500 with mainly “desperados” of English society that the ruling class believe should be tugged away for good. There is rampant deprivation in society today and the government knows it and yet decides to prevet rather than cure the problem. Let us attempt to save people’s lives than ruin them. The rising of crime is a result of irresponsibility, mismanagemt and lack of concern at the highest point of governmentThis is a sign that the English are fast degenerating into a police state where man’s civil liberties and freedoms will be extensively curtailed.We only hope our system does not degerate into another “Guantanamo”
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Stick them on the oil platforms…and dont give them any privilages!
Make them do hard wet dirty graft and stop pampering these scum with hot meals tvs and hot showers!
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Don’t always blame the government. Alot of the blame firmly belongs with the parents of these offenders. If they were tougher on them as kids and set a good example i.e. not sitting in the Pub while the kids run around the streets, maybe we would’nt have such a large problem now.
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THEY TRIED THIS SUPER PRISON LARK IN PARIS AT FLEURY MEROGIS.THIRTY YEARS ON IT IS THE BIGGEST JUDICIAL SORE IN EUROPE AND ALL THEY WANT IS SMALLER UNITS.IF ANY ONE IS DREAMING OF AN AMERICAN SUPERMAX WITH NO DAYLIGHT AND NO HUMAN CONTACTS PLEASE REMIND AMNESTY ETC THAT THAT IS PROBABLY CRUELLER AND MORE INHUMANE THAN THE DEATH PENALTY.
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Seeing how we fought to win it back from the Argentines in 1982, how about plonking the new super-prison on South Georgia. It’s cold, bleak, isolated – and has the added benefit that any escapees would have to traverse hundreds of miles of roaring Antarctic Ocean.
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When visting the U.S.A, we came across a prision, where inmates wear pink underwear and are not allowed T.V. They have to do hard labour, and every eveing the governor reads them the bible to them..
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Its the parents fault, take the Darwin’s its their parents fault.
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When I was growing up in the 1950s life was much tougher than it is in today`s society with all the consumerism and opportunities open to everyone, things, which it appears from Blessed Kungwenge`s comments, that many today do not appreciate. There is plenty of food on the tables of people in the UK. Their leisure time has on offer many things, which were unimaginable 50 years ago. Nearly everybody has a car to get around in. Far more pupils leave school with qualifications than was the case in the 50s. The world has shrunk in size due to the travel opprortunities open to us. How dare he refer to the appalling state of people`s lives. Go out and work for the opportunities, which are there rather than be expected to have them handed to him on a plate. He ought to go and spend some time in a country, where life is really tough like Bangladesh to see where people really do have appalling lives. Get things into perspective Mr Kungwenge!!
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Nobody wants a ‘super prison’ on their doorstep, especially anywhere within the west midlands. Many posters on here are talking sense when they recommend something similar to alcatraz.
Let the scumbags suffer somewhere re mote. Problem solved.
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Or they could just deport the majority of the prison population (who are non nationals) and not bother at all.
If Wolverhampton Planning get involved though it’ll probably get wangled through in wighwick just out of spite: that ward is their current dumping ground of choice.
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Put them on that island that was swamped with anthrax
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Wow..I see the Midlands has made the news again. Well, at least it makes a break from this area being known for poverty pay, long hours and poor health.
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Lets birch them, then hang draw and quarter them. We could always set fire to the remains. They won’t offend again!
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Prison ship at Weymouth ‘H M P WEARE’docked in Portland Harbour, closed last year because the ‘view was no good’ complaints was main reason for closing.
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I fully agree with ray send them to south georgia cut them off from the world, and an added bonus is that we would not have falklands criminals serving sentences in uk jails as they do now.
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These super prisons will prove to be very lucrative contracts for the private sector.
American companies are now being invited to tender for new build prisons,evidentally for healthier competition.
I wonder if the home office would prefer to contract them out to the private sector to run them on a shoe string and possibly which the prison service and POA would not want to touch with a barge pole.
many new prisons seem to be built in rural,high cost of living and high employment area’s with staff on low wages,management won’t stand a chance which is evident within the private sector
COMMENTS!!!
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death penalties, more efficient, cheaper, effective and no re-offending.
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FOR MARTIN:
AFTER THE U.N. VOTE ON THE 19TH OR 20TH DECEMBER 2007 IT WILL BE ILLEGAL TO APPLY THE DEATH PENALTY ANYWHERE ON THE PLANET DURING THE VOTED MORATORIUM.IT IS ALREADY MORE OR LESS ILLEGAL IN THE EUROPEAN UNION TO ”PROMOTE” IT.EVEN OUTSIDE THE E.U. SEE LAW THAT CAME INTO FORCE 1ST JULY 2006.
THERE IS ALREADY A VERY UNHAPPY GALLOWS’MAKER IN THE UK.
SUPERMAXES ETC. ARE OBVIOUSLY CRUELLER BUT AMNESTY ETC DOESN’T SEE THIS.
THERE IS A RUMOUR GOING ROUND THAT THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED NATIONS ARE ALSO GOING TO BAN THE WORD ”DICTATORSHIP”. SO I DON’T THINK WE WILL BE ABLE TO PUT UP A GALLOWS FOR BANK ROBBERS OUTSIDE TESCOS IN CRADLEY HEATH.A PITY PERHAPS?
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I do hope they use british builders to build this prison??And local british people to staff it.
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Put it in Rhyl…lol..might brighten the place up!
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Now we know why nobody goes to Rhyl any longer, mate!!
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