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Location: Humberside Type: State built & privately run Operator: Group 4 Category: Local & B (Training) Normal accommodation: 360 Opened: April 1992

Notes: This was the first prison in Europe to hand over its management to a private company, and the experiment got off to a shaky start. The first report by the Chief Inspector of Prisons talked about the “corrupting lethargy” of a regime which lacked structured activities. Writing in 1993, Judge Stephen Tumim reported: “Inmates lie in bed more or less as long as they wish. There is little work and much pottering about. If the sun is out, they bask. They doze a great deal.” Five years on, his successor Sir David Ramsbotham reported a success story, saying that prisoners who had done time in traditional jails experienced a “culture shock” at The Wolds, where they were treated as human beings by staff who were firm, but also fair and friendly. But the report said that the prison needed better direction and support by the Prison Service.

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