HM Prison Acklington

Acklington Prison opened in 1972, and was soon branded a holiday camp by the local media due to lax security and comfortable conditions for inmates. When the prison's security problems were at their worst, there were 14 escapes in one year. A review of security was undertaken in 1990 after a spate of escapes, including one in which a jogger trotted away from a supervised group and scaled the fence. Several weeks later two inmates hijacked a milk float and used it to dodge security. Acklington came in for further criticism in September 2002 when prefabs were constructed at the prison to house inmates due to overcrowding. In November 2004, three prisoners were involved in a disturbance which…

Acklington is a category C prison for adult male prisoners, with many being sex offenders. Education and vocational courses at the prison include: Woodwork; Tailoring and Textiles; Industrial workshops; Engineering workshops; Painting and Decorating; Bricklaying; Amenity Gardening; Market Gardening; Laundry; Physical Education; Waste Management and Catering, all of which include accredited qualifications. The prison also offers accredited Offending Behaviour programmes which include Drug Rehabilitation facilities, Sex Offender Programmes, Enhanced Thinking Skills, and Healthy Relationships programmes.