HM Prison Ford
 HMP Ford Gatelodge | |
| Location | Ford, West Sussex |
|---|---|
| Security class | Adult Male/Category D |
| Capacity | 521 |
| Opened | 1960 |
| Managed by | HM Prison Services |
| Governor | Graham Spencer |
| Website | http://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/ford |
HM Prison Ford (informally known as Ford Open Prison) is a Category D men's prison, located at Ford, in West Sussex, England, near Arundel and Littlehampton. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
The site was initially RAF Ford before changing into Royal Naval Air Station Ford (RNAS Ford/HMS Peregrine) a Fleet Air Arm station.
The Westland Wyvern went into service first here in the early 1950s with 813 Naval Air Squadron.
The following units were here at some point:[1]
- No. 10 Squadron RAF
- No. 16 Squadron RAF
- No. 22 Squadron RAF
- No. 23 Squadron RAF
- No. 29 Squadron RAF
- No. 88 Squadron RAF
- No. 96 Squadron RAF
- No. 97 Squadron RAF
- No. 107 Squadron RAF
- No. 115 Squadron RAF
- No. 127 Squadron RAF
- No. 141 Squadron RAF
- No. 144 Squadron RAF
- No. 148 Squadron RAF
- No. 149 Squadron RAF
- No. 170 Squadron RAF
- No. 174 Squadron RAF
- No. 215 Squadron RAF
- No. 256 Squadron RAF
- No. 287 Squadron RAF
- No. 288 Squadron RAF
- No. 418 Squadron RCAF
- No. 456 Squadron RAAF
- No. 604 Squadron RAF
- No. 605 Squadron RAF
- No. 611 Squadron RAF
- Naval units
- 700 Naval Air Squadron
- 700X Flight
- 702 Naval Air Squadron
- 703 Naval Air Squadron
- 703A Flight
- 703W Flight
- 703X Flight
- 708 Naval Air Squadron
- 720 Naval Air Squadron
- 745 Naval Air Squadron
- 746 Naval Air Squadron
- 750 Naval Air Squadron
- 751 Naval Air Squadron
- 752 Naval Air Squadron
- 762 Naval Air Squadron
- 764 Naval Air Squadron
- 767 Naval Air Squadron
- 771 Naval Air Squadron
- 778 Naval Air Squadron
- 781 Naval Air Squadron
- 782 Naval Air Squadron
- 787 Naval Air Squadron
- 793 Naval Air Squadron
- 800 Naval Air Squadron
- 801 Naval Air Squadron
- 802 Naval Air Squadron
- 803 Naval Air Squadron
- 804 Naval Air Squadron
- 806 Naval Air Squadron
- 807 Naval Air Squadron
- 809 Naval Air Squadron
- 810 Naval Air Squadron
- 811 Naval Air Squadron
- 812 Naval Air Squadron
- 813 Naval Air Squadron
- 814 Naval Air Squadron
- 815 Naval Air Squadron
- 816 Naval Air Squadron
- 818 Naval Air Squadron
- 819 Naval Air Squadron
- 820 Naval Air Squadron
- 821 Naval Air Squadron
- 824 Naval Air Squadron
- 825 Naval Air Squadron
- 826 Naval Air Squadron
- 827 Naval Air Squadron
- 829 Naval Air Squadron
- 830 Naval Air Squadron
- 831 Naval Air Squadron
- 890 Naval Air Squadron
- 895 Naval Air Squadron
- 897 Naval Air Squadron
- 1832 Naval Air Squadron
- 1833 Naval Air Squadron
- 1840 Naval Air Squadron
- 1840A Naval Air Squadron
- 1841 Naval Air Squadron
- 1842 Naval Air Squadron
- Units
- No. 8 Fighter Command Servicing Unit
- No. 11 Group Target Towing Flight RAF
- 14th Carrier Air Group
- No. 15 (Fighter) Wing
- 18th (Training) Wing
- No. 50 Training Squadron
- No. 122 Airfield became No. 122 (Rocket Projectile) Wing
- No. 125 Airfield became No. 125 (Fighter) Wing
- No. 131 (Polish) (Fighter) Wing
- No. 132 (Norwegian) (Fighter) Wing
- No. 133 (Polish) (Fighter) Wing
- No. 144 (RCAF) (Fighter) Wing
- No. 161 Gliding School RAF
- No. 1488 (Fighter) Gunnery Flight
Prison recent history
The prison has been criticised for its lax security – especially after 70 people, including three murderers serving the last three years of their sentences, absconded in 2006 alone.[2]
In March 2009, the prison's own Independent Monitoring Board issued a report stating that an outdated CCTV security system and a staffing shortage were contributing to burglars breaking into the jail to steal equipment from workshops. The report also found that drugs, alcohol and mobile phones were being smuggled into the prison for inmates.[3] Two months later, an inspection report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons found that inmates were leaving the prison complex at night to acquire alcohol. The report also stated that the prison was underperforming in preparing inmates for resettlement on release.[4] In October 2009, an investigation was launched after it emerged that a prisoner at Ford had been able to remove documents from a disused office in the prison complex.[5]
In July 2010, managers of Ford Prison had to apologise after Muslim prisoners at the jail were served burgers containing pork. 20 Muslim inmates were served the non-halal food before they noticed that the packaging for the burgers listed pork as an ingredient.[6]
Notable former inmates
References
- ^ "Ford (Yapton)". Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- ^ "70 flee from open prison in year". ICEaling. co.uk. 26 November 2008. Archived from the original on 23 November 2006. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
- ^ "Thieves target prison workshops". BBC News. 12 March 2009.
- ^ Casciani, Dominic (6 May 2009). "Alcohol smuggling at open jail". BBC News.
- ^ "Prisoner removes jail documents". BBC News. 15 October 2009.
- ^ "Prison apologises to Muslim inmates given pork in error". BBC News. 28 July 2010.
- ^ "Filmmaker Chris Atkins talks about the UK film tax fraud that saw him sentenced to five years in prison".
- ^ "Andrew Cunningham". Daily Telegraph. 28 October 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
- ^ Hardy, Jack (24 March 2017). "All the aliases used by the Westminster attacker". The Independent. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ "Ronson's risk". The Independent. Retrieved 11 June 2018.