The Ministry of Justice is looking to restructure prisons across the UK, which could lead to Lincoln Prison being turned into an immigration centre.
The category B prison houses around 740 adult male inmates, and Lincolnshire County Council fears the changes could lead to job losses and impact local inmates well-being.
Councillor Martin Hill, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council, said: “The prison has spent £26 million on improvements over the last three years.
“Given that investment it makes sense to continue using it as a prison. It wasn’t designed to be an immigration centre, and isn’t suited for that purpose.
“At the same time, there’s absolutely no need for a second immigration centre in the county [after Morton Hall, near Lincoln]. Lincolnshire’s immigrant population is small.
“This means people would be brought in from other parts of the country, most probably followed by their families. These families are likely to need a lot of support, putting further pressure on local services.
“So while the change might represent a saving to the prison service, it will certainly mean additional costs for everybody else,” Councillor Hill explained.
The council leader will be writing a letter to minister Chris Grayling opposing the change, and request that his input is taken in the decision-making process.
He added: “There’s a real need for a prison in Lincoln. It’s essential for driving down re-offending rates and making sure justice is delivered locally.
“If we lost the prison, there would also be a significant impact on the county economy. Not only does the prison employ hundreds of people, it also contributes more than £11 million to the local economy each year.”
No decisions made yet
Lincoln MP Karl McCartney said he discussed this with ministers and the Secretary of State for Justice, and assured no decisions have been made yet without local consultation.
He said: “Currently the Ministry of Justice is in the early stages of a limited restructuring process for the country’s prisons and I have been reassured that no hard-and-fast decisions whatsoever have been made as yet, especially in relation to our prison in Lincoln.
“The Department are considering a number of changes across the whole prison system, right across the country, and if the MoJ do propose any changes to the role that Lincoln Prison currently provides, then they will consult with both me, and interested parties locally.
“I have already spoken to representatives at the County Council and the new Prison Governor, Mr Peter Wright, earlier this week and I will be meeting with the new Governor personally when I am back in the constituency early on Friday.”
The Ministry of Justice also confirmed the plans are not final: “No decisions have been made, and there are currently no plans to close the prison,” a spokesperson said.
Concerns over prison downgrade
Councillor Ric Metcalfe, Leader of the City of Lincoln Council, said: “The closure or downgrading of Lincoln Prison would have wide reaching implications for the city.
“It is a major employer and consumer of locally provided services and one we can ill afford to lose in the current economic climate.
“I am extremely concerned that the council has not been asked for any input in this process and believe it is essential that a full assessment of the consequences of closure or downgrading is carried out before any decision is taken.
“As the local authority it is essential that we are involved in that process with the Ministry of Justice, alongside other authorities, business organisations and community representatives.”
Councillor Metcalfe also expressed concerns over the building’s suitability to become an immigration detention centre which, it is believed, is one alternative being considered.
“The Victorian building is completely unsuitable for use as an immigration centre and using it in such a way would likely mean increased pressure on local services and infrastructure.”
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A 38-year-old man from a North Lincolnshire village charged with murder will face an eight-day trial later this year.
Emergency services were called at 4.23am on Saturday, July 2 to reports that a man was seriously injured on South Parade in central Doncaster.
The 28-year-old victim was taken to hospital but was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.
A post-mortem examination found that he died of injuries to his head, chest and abdomen.
Formal identification of the victim is yet to take place, South Yorkshire Police said earlier this week.
Steven Ling, 38, of Park Drain, Westwoodside in North Lincolnshire, has been charged with murder and was remanded in custody to appear at Doncaster Magistrates Court on Monday, July 4.
Ling later appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday, July 5 for a plea and trial preparation hearing.
No pleas were entered during the hearing, but an eight-day trial was set for November 28, 2022. Ling has now been remanded into custody until the next hearing.
The Lincolnite went on a ride-along with a Lincolnshire Police officer from the force’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU), which aims to disrupt criminals’ use of the roads and reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents.
The team will support the county response including local policing, neighbourhood policing and criminal investigation too.
Operations first began in Grantham in January this year and started in Louth earlier this week with a sergeant and nine PCs based in both locations.
The Lincolnite went out on a ride-along with PC Rich Precious from Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
PC Rich Precious has been a police officer for 22 years after joining the force in 2000 and he recently rejoined the Roads Policing Unit, working out of Louth.
PC Precious, who also previously worked as a family liaison officer for road deaths for 16 years, took The Lincolnite out in his police car to the A1 up to Colsteworth and then back to Grantham. He described that particular area as “one of the main arterial routes that goes through Lincolnshire”.
PC Rich Precious driving down the A1 up to Colsterworth. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Speaking about the new Roads Policing Unit, he said: “It’s intelligence led policing, it’s targeted policing in areas that have been underrepresented in terms of police presence, on the roads certainly, over a number of years.
“We’re hoping that the development of this unit will help address that balance, and look towards using the ANPR system to prevent criminals’ use of the road, and to identify key areas or routes where there’s a high percentage of people killed or seriously injured on the road, what we commonly refer to as KSI.
PC Precious is helping to keep the roads safer in Lincolnshire. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
When asked if he thinks the new team will help reduce the number of serious and fatal accidents in the county, he added: “That’s what the the unit designed for. Sadly, in Lincolnshire our road network does seem to incur a number of those KSI accidents year on year, and we need to reduce that.
“I’ve worked additionally in my roles as a family liaison officer on road death for 16 years, so I’ve seen first hand the impact that road death has on families and victims families.
“I know it’s important that we try and reduce those because, it’s very sad to see how a fatal road traffic collision can affect a family and the victims of that family.”
Marc Gee, Inspector for Lincolnshire Police’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Marc Gee, Inspector for the Roads Policing Unit, told The Lincolnite: “Every day there will be officers on duty from both teams and they’ll cover the whole county or the county’s roads.
“Eventually, we’ll have nine police cars and we’ve got six motorbikes. We’ll be utilising them with as many officers as we can every day basically to make our roads safer and enforce against the criminals who feel like it’s okay to come into the county and use our road for criminal purposes.”
Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones at the launch of the force’s Roads Policing Unit. | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
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