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Take a look inside the ‘super prison’ of the future, with all the mod cons but no ‘cells’

It is the “super prison” of the future where offenders are known as residents, cells are called rooms and there are no bars in the windows.

John Lawrence for the Telegraph Dominic Raab HMP Five Wells - John Lawrence for the Telegraph

The governor has been renamed the director and aims to be on first name terms with all inmates, who all have tablet computer and showers in their cells as well as access to workshops, ranging from hairdressing and bike repair to forklift truck maintenance and waste recycling.

For relaxation and exercise, there is a fully kitted-out gym and sports pitches, as well as running and rowing machines, along with snooker and table tennis in every one of the seven blocks of the 1,700-capacity jail.

Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, on Thursday set the seal on Five Wells jail in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire - the first of six new “super prisons” that aim to revolutionise the penal regime by putting rehabilitation, work and training at the heart of it.

Anticipating criticism of a “soft touch” approach, Mr Raab is unapologetic that he is not prepared to “stigmatise” offenders or be “theological” if what is ostensibly a more liberal penal policy succeeds in reducing reoffending.

 Provided by The Telegraph Dominic Raab HMP Five Ways - John Lawrence for the Telegraph

Asked about the rebranded language in the prisons, the Deputy Prime Minister said: “I am interested in punishment because that is what the public expects. I am not really interested in stigmatising in a way that is counterproductive to my driving down reoffending.

“What you have heard, which I like, is giving offenders something to lose. If you come to a place like this with gyms, workshops and the ability to do skills education, you get a glimmer of the future of how your life could be.

“Then it is up to offenders to take that second chance. If they don't do that, they lose their entitlements, their perks. That is what really matters.”

The £253 million prison - a category C for training and resettlement - breaks the mould in not only its approach but design. 

The seven blocks have four floors, each with 60 prisoners, set out in an X-shape so the guard can stand in the centre and see every cell door on the floor to spot any trouble.

The corridors are wider, so inmates cannot “accidentally” bump into each other as they might on a typical walkway in a Victorian jail. It is the first prison where bars are replaced by reinforced glass, which has been “tested to destruction” by being hit by anything from a bed to a sledgehammer.

 Provided by The Telegraph There are no 'cells' at HMP Five Wells - prisoners stay in 'rooms' which have windows made of reinforced glass - John Lawrence for the Telegraph

It means drones cannot fly in drugs, while body scanners are deployed for new entrants. There are 1,600 security cameras, effectively one for every inmate. However, it is the 24 training workshops which set it apart. It is more than any other prison in the UK.

Prisoners get in-cell tablets to access education, training and maintaining family ties, as well as ordering food from the canteen. 

There are 500 prized training places with local employers where they go out on temporary licence, potentially leading to full-time jobs after release. Mr Raab wants to quadruple the proportion in jobs after release from 14 per cent to more than 50 per cent. He sees this as a key route to reducing reoffending.

Provided by The Telegraph Dominic Raab Five Wells - John Lawrence for the Telegraph

Northampton Saints foundation, the local rugby club’s charitable arm, offers gym instructor courses. “They like the contact aspect of rugby football,” said a representative, noting they had the chance to play on on-site pitches.

Food every evening for dinner at 5.30pm is prepared by 40 prisoners training for food hygiene qualifications. Cell doors are generally locked at 7.30pm, although the best behaved prisoners are allowed out until 9.30pm. 

One prisoner told Mr Raab on Thursday: “We want to better ourselves. We want to debunk the label of prisoners. We want to go forward and rejoin society in a prosocial way.” However, even the Justice Secretary admitted it sounded almost too good to be true.

Provided by The Telegraph HMP Five Wells - John Lawrence for the Telegraph

John McLaughlin, the prison director from G4S, which has the contract to run the jail, defended the renaming of offenders as residents. “Not referring to them as inmates or prisoners sets the tone for the culture and the ethos of the prison I’m trying to establish,” he said.

“People like to feel valued - that’s my view. And everyone who is incarcerated here will be released at some point, and I want them to feel ready for custody to the community, and part of that is feeling that they are worth something, they have something to offer, something to give back.”

He said he already knew the first names of 120 of the first 140 prisoners in Five Wells since it opened two weeks ago. He intends to catch up on the remaining 20. 

“It’s breaking down those historical barriers of referring to everyone as sir or guv, or boss. No one calls me sir or guv or boss. I’m John. I’m John to my staff, I’m John to the prisoners.” 

Reference: The Telegraph: Charles Hymas