First impressions of HMP Berwyn and its population

The Wrexham-based jail opened on February 27, 2017, as a category C training and resettlement prison for North Wales and North West England.

Since December 2019, it has also operated as a reception prison which serves the courts across North Wales.

I recall our coverage of the opening of Berwyn - there was a great deal of interest and no shortage of opinions for and against it, writes Steve Craddock.

As a court and crime reporter, I've mainly come across the prison in my stories when people end up there for their crimes, or when offences such as assaults or drug possession have happened there.

This is unfortunate for HMP Berwyn, because there is a great deal more happening behind those walls that we can see from outside; positive work and efforts to rehabilitate people so as to help them off the path towards repeat criminality.

The entrance to reception - the first thing an inmate sees after entering the gates (Image: HMP BERWYN)

I was keen to see some of that for myself, and to find out more about what life in the prison is like on a day-to-day basis.

As of today, HMP Berwyn is holding 1,820 prisoners - which is more than the other four prisons in South Wales combined, according to governor Nick Leader.

Around 600 come from North Wales - either on remand or following conviction.

The remaining 1,200 predominantly come from the North West.

There is a total of 50 men at the establishment who are convicted under the age of 21, referred to as "young offenders."

More than 100 of Berwyn's men are serving indeterminate or life sentence, which Mr Leader said brings a variety of additional pressures.

The prison can hold men aged 18 and upwards - and its current oldest inmate is 89 years of age.

Mr Leader said: "If you think about the things we need to look after men from these varying age groups, it highlights the challenges we have.

"That can be social care and support for the elderly, to almost post or pre-school standards with some of the younger people - and every other age in between."

Asked how staff are prepared and equipped to deal with such a wide variety of needs, he continued: "The Prison Service does some really good training for new staff, which is up to 10 weeks for new prison officers.

"A number of (non-prison) roles people go for before they start their new job wouldn't have such a lengthy training period.

"This gives them some of the core skills, such as how to deal with people that are vulnerable and volatile, as well as understanding the prison system and jargon used which can often confuse people.

"There's a whole range of training people have to pass to the required standard to get through.

A cell at HMP Berwyn (Image: HMP BERWYN)

"Then they have an additional two-week induction period here where they're allocated to a workplace and given a mentor.

"Most of our new staff go to work on the residential wings."

Mr Leader then took me on a walk around several of the prison's facilities including its college, resettlement hub and one of its residential wings where I was able to meet some prisoners and speak with guards.

There's a definite change in atmosphere when you pass through the security area, which is essentially something like an airport x-ray and a pat-down for me as I'd walked through the scanner with an errant 5p in my pocket (oops!).

Something that might seem obvious; there are a lot of locked doors at Berwyn!

It's quite strange to go from what most of us are used to - having the freedom in our daily lives to go where we want, when we want - to there being an unlock and locking process when moving from one part of the prison to another. 

Systems and routines marched on like clockwork as we walked through the yards, with men following their daily schedule of cleaning wings and cells, moving en masse to work and college or going to medical appointments - some even stopped for a friendly chat with the governor.

Coleg Berwyn (Image: HMP BERWYN)

Something that did strike me was that there was a certain level of 'camaraderie' between the inmates and the guards.

I got the sense it was not only necessary, but it provided a bit of common ground which ultimately fostered respect and conformity with the rules.

There'll always be those who don't want to co-operate of course, and inevitably end up back in court for this or that.

Berwyn does have 11 inmates who are subject to 'challenge support and intervention plans' after all, meaning they are monitored and managed because they're known to be more involved in violence and disruption.

And 27 of its prisoners are on ACCTs (which means they have been identified as being vulnerable to self harm or suicide).

I heard first-hand from a prisoner how some of those who have been in for a little longer try to support new arrivals on their first night, which can often be very emotionally challenging.

As an establishment, Berwyn itself still looks very clean and new, though there are works ongoing to redecorate areas due to latent defects from when the prison opened.

Mr Leader said: "We have to remember why we do this job - all of my prisoners are going to be released and all of them are going to be someone's neighbour.

"If people come into Berwyn and they're involved in drugs, if they've been violent or they've been a challenge for their families - if we do nothing with them apart from lock them up, when they go out they're probably at least going to be as bad, if not worse.

"What drives a lot of staff is that we want to protect the public."

Mr Leader was very frank and open about the challenges the establishment faces and that work is needed to make it "as good as it should be."

But - bear in mind I'm not a prison quality assessor - going in with 'fresh eyes', for a first visit, I have to say I was really impressed with what I saw.

HMP Berwyn Governor Nick Leader (Image: HMP BERWYN/UNLOCKED)

• The Leader visited HMP Berwyn to have a first-hand look around the establishment with Governor Nick Leader.

We're going to be sharing a number of exclusive stories looking at a wide variety of aspects of prison life.

These include an overview of the prison's population at present, its aims and objectives in terms of rehabilitation and resettlement, staffing challenges and more.

We've also got one-on-one interviews with guards and inmates who have given their perspective on how Berwyn is on the inside.

Is prison time easy in Berwyn? What is Christmas like in prison, how do guards tackle drugs and other illicit items, how does prison change people?

So watch this space! There will be plenty of fascinating content from the prison to come.