HM Prison Rochester

HM Prison Rochester (formerly known as Borstal Convict Prison and Borstal Institution) is a male Young Offenders Institution, founded in 1874, and located in the Borstal area of Rochester in Kent, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and is located next to HMP Cookham Wood.

19th Century
HMP Rochester opened on 3 August 1874 as Borstal Convict Prison, when a small working party of prisoners arrived from Chatham Convict Prison and stayed their first night. In 1909, it officially became the Borstal Institution, an experimental juvenile reformatory prison, following work started by Sir Evelyn Ruggles-Brise in 1902. Because it was the first detention centre of its kind in the UK, the word "Borstal" became synonymous with other detention centres for youths across the country, and across the Empire.

20th Century
The institution remained as a Borstal school until 1983, when it was converted into a Youth Custody Centre and renamed 'Rochester'. The prison changed its role to operate as a remand centre for the Kent courts and sentenced category C and D adult males. Rochester then became a mixed site prison for immigration detainees and a resettlement unit for adult male prisoners. The prison also operated as a remand and allocation centre for males under the age of 21.

21st Century
In January 2002, Rochester re-rolled to a prison solely for sentenced young men up to the age of 21.

In March 2003, Rochester Prison was criticised by its own Board of Visitors. The Board stated that there were few useful employment or educational opportunities for inmates, and so therefore they had few chances to gain qualifications or work experience.

In August 2006, an inspection report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons declared that Rochester Prison was improving, but still had a number of unresolved issues. Inspectors found that HMP Rochester was generally safe, and had good staff-prisoner relations. However the prison was called on to do more to provide work for inmates, and to do more to combat bullying.

In March 2007, it was announced that the capacity of Rochester Prison was to be doubled to 700. This drew severe opposition from local residents. Construction had briefly begun in March 2007, but was on hold pending permission from Medway Council, the local planning authority. This was granted, and in September 2008 a further four accommodation units were constructed at the site.

The prison today
Rochester is a Category C prison which holds convicted, sentenced adults and male young offenders aged 18 or over, in single or double cells, some of which have showers. As a resettlement prison, it offers a wide range of vocational training (including painting and decorating, carpentry, stonemasonry, construction, and catering), work opportunities, and offending behaviour programmes. Education opportunities include English and maths, IT, and distance learning.

Notable former inmates

 * Michael Boateng, former professional footballer jailed for conspiracy to defraud as part of an investigation into match-fixing. Boateng has co-presented on a podcast called Banged Up talking about his time in Rochester.