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HMP Dovegate makes progress on safety

The latest report by Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on HMP Dovegate - which is run by Serco on behalf of the Ministry of Justice - states that the prison has ‘made some notable progress over the last two years, becoming a safer prison’.

Above: Prison Custody officer and Director at Serco-run HMP Dovegate.
Courtesy Serco

The Inspectors reported the prison to be well run and settled, with confident and engaged prisoners and knowledgeable staff.  The Inspectors also found that more prisoners said they felt safe on their first night than inspectors usually find in similar prisons.

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Commenting on the Report John Hewitson, Serco Prison Director at HMP Dovegate, said: “We are pleased that this Report has found that we have made good progress over the last two years and that it has become a safer, settled prison.

“I would like to thank everyone who works here for their efforts to improve the prison; they have all made a real difference. We will now build on this Report and address the challenges that it identifies, particularly in continuing to reduce violence and the availability of drugs.” 

Opened in 2001, HMP Dovegate is managed by Serco on a 25 year contract as a category B prison. Serco care for over 1,060 male adult prisoners over the age of 21, all serving a range of sentences including trial, remand, awaiting sentence and convicted men serving over four years to life.

Dovegate, in Staffordshire, provides education – literacy, numeracy, IT and vocational skills – healthcare, industrial work opportunities, drug and alcohol counselling, accredited and non-accredited offender behaviour courses aimed at reducing criminogenic risk and thereby aiding release and resettlement of offenders.

To read the full report, click here

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