A Visit to an Open Prison in Kent
Suzanne and I have visited three prisons already in Surrey during my Shrieval year so far but on Friday July 25th we were invited by the High Sheriff of Kent, Jonathan Neame, and his wife Lucie to accompany them on a visit to HMP East Sutton Park an open prison near Maidstone in Kent. It is housed in over 80 acres including a Jacobean manor house and has no walls or fences. Women at East Sutton Park generally have three years or less to serve on their sentence and they are given the opportunity to work on the farm at the prison or to go out on day release with local employers; giving them more freedom and interaction with people ahead of leaving prison. Currently there are 80 women at East Sutton Park and over 60 are participating in ROTL (Release on Temporary Licence) schemes. The women are released four days a week returning each evening to the prison.
The prison governor, Amy Dixon, is also the prison governor of HMP Downview in Surrey and The Glasshouse charity (which we had visited earlier in the day) has been involved with both prisons. They work with some of the women at East Sutton Park who are allowed out on ROTL, teaching them employability skills and helping to prepare them for life after release. The Glasshouse teaches horticulture skills to 5 or 6 women at a time and offers them permanent employment on their release. They are looking to expand their operations to other women’s prisons where ROTL schemes operate and hopefully this will include HMP Downview.
https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/prisons/hmp-east-sutton-park
