Grendon Prison to receive the Longford Prize

Grendon Prison to receive the Longford Prize

A prison which has achieved stunning results in reducing offending by dangerous and disturbed criminals – often in the face of hostility from prison bosses – will be honoured today for its pioneering work.

Peter Bennett, its governor, said yesterday: "Grendon has survived since 1962. There have been difficult times and there have been different kinds of emphases in prison policy over that period. But Grendon has shown extraordinary resilience." He said the jail cost £42,000 per prisoner per year compared to £35,000 for a normal grade B prison, but argued that the extra expense was recouped by the savings to society from reduced offending by former inmates.

Although Grendon provides a specialist service, Dr Bennett said that he believed its principles, particularly in the treatment of inmates and their close co-operation with staff, could be applied across the prison estate. "Prisoners are very well-behaved," he said. "There are very few violent incidents, low levels of self-harm and low levels of drug use".

In 1989, when I was transferred from Albany Prison (IoW) to the Hull Prison Special Unit, Phil Wheatley was the No1 Governor of the prison and Peter Bennett was a governor grade 5 in charge of the Special Unit. I had a lot of time for both men and came to respect them greatly. It is a shame that the Prison Service does not have more people with their qualities in the system because not only would prisoners benefit but also the public at large.