HM Prison Ford

The site was initially RAF Ford before changing into Royal Naval Air Station Ford (RNAS Ford/HMS Peregrine) a Fleet Air Arm station.

The following units were here at some point:[1]

The site was converted to an open prison in 1960 with a capacity of 521.

The prison houses convicted adult males and, as a category D institution, specialises in dealing with D non-violent offenders with a low risk of absconding, but does not limit itself exclusively to that category of offender.

In 1996 Lord ('Charlie') Brocket, aged 44, was transferred to Ford following an incident in which he was stabbed in a semi-secure prison in Bedfordshire. There was a great deal of media interest in Brocket, who had been convicted of insurance fraud but who had epitomised 1980s consumerism, and shortly after his arrival he was photographed visiting a physiotherapist in the local town of Bognor Regis. Following that incident, he was denied the usual freedom that comes with a stay in an open prison. The Board of Visitors at the time had raised concern over the system regarding inmates being able to obtain private medical treatment. Chairpersons Mrs Lillian Holdsworth and subsequently Mrs Alison Munn had discussed this at Area Manager level. The system was changed after this incident and all external medical appointments more thoroughly vetted.

Since about 1999 Ford has had a more varied population, and some high-profile prisoners who were expected to be sent to Ford were instead incarcerated in other open prisons. Jonathan Aitken was sent to an Open Prison in Kent, and Jeffrey Archer was sent to North Sea Camp in Lincolnshire.

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In March 2009, the prison's own Independent Monitoring Board issued a report stating that an outdated CCTV security system and a staffing shortage were contributing to burglars breaking into the jail to steal equipment from workshops.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] Open prisons are operated on trust. Prisoners who break this trust are often sent back to closed conditions or have their freedom curtailed. Staffing levels have often been considered to be too low by the IMB even as far back as 1997 and 1998. The IMB Annual Reports, made to the Home Secretary, are available to the public once they have been vetted for any confidential information.

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]

On 1 January 2011, inmates at Ford Prison started a riot after they were ordered to undergo breathalyser tests for contraband alcohol. Approximately 40 prisoners began smashing windows and activating fire alarms; the incident then escalated, resulting in several buildings on the grounds being set ablaze. Eight blocks at the open jail were set on fire. A mail room, gym, snooker room and pool room were destroyed. Prison staff retreated from part of the site while specialist prison officers in riot gear were brought in, along with firefighters and riot police. After the riot was brought under control, the Prison Service announced that it would undertake an enquiry into the incident.

In February 2011, a journalist for The Sun successfully broke into the jail and provided details of lax security there.