January 25, 2023 3.00 pm This story is over 24 months old

North Sea Camp absconders a “constant source of potential concern”, MP says

He is calling for a “nuanced, difficult conversation” on the issue

By Local Democracy Reporter

With four absconders from HMP North Sea Camp in the last 12 months, Boston & Skegness MP Matt Warman is calling for a rethink on the type of convicts that are allowed in open prison conditions.

The MP for Boston and Skegness has been tackling an ongoing issue in his constituency for some time now, with four serious offenders absconding from HMP North Sea Camp in the last 12 months.

These include Paul Robson, serving a life sentence for an attempted rape conviction, Paul Marshall, also serving life for a rape offence, another lifer in for convicted aggravated burglary Gary Butcher, and most recently Paul Clohessy, serving a six-year sentence for drug offences.

Marshall and Clohessy are both yet to be caught and brought back to North Sea Camp, and members of the public have regularly expressed their concerns over the types of convicts that are brought into an open prison so close to their homes.

Matt Warman MP met with the Prisons Minister on Tuesday evening to express the worries of his residents, and discuss the ways to improve this situation.

North Sea Camp is an open prison near Boston for category D criminals. It has been open since 1935. | Photo: John Aron for The Lincolnite

He told The Lincolnite that it could be time for a “nuanced, difficult conversation” about which prisoners should be allowed in open conditions to best utilise the criminal justice system and stick to prison principles of rehabilitation.

Mr Warman said: “It is obviously vitally important that the people in North Sea Camp abide by the open conditions, otherwise they are the wrong type of people to be in a prison of that kind.

“So-called lesser criminals are less likely to be institutionalised than someone who has been in prison for decades, and a difficult conversation is needed to see how comfortable people are with the different profile of risk that comes with allowing different types of offenders into open conditions.

“Since October last year we have seen a much tighter regime that will see fewer of the most serious convicts going to North Sea Camp, which should mean fewer of these worrying incidents.

“However, if in their place are relatively lesser convicts, what does that mean to local people?

“I welcome the tightening of the system but my constituents naturally fear when any type of convict absconds.”

The Boston & Skegness MP called North Sea Camp a “constant source of potential concern”, and said we must be alive to the fact that with changes to the system comes benefits, but also new challenges to tackle.

“Improvement looks like making sure that only appropriate people end up in open conditions,” Warman added. “Fundamentally it is about ensuring people respect the regime.

“There is a hierarchy of concern within the public dependent on the severity of the crime committed, and for us overall success is about finding the right people who will obey the rules of the camp.”


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