The closure of Holloway Prison has had a negative “ripple effect” on the women’s prison system, a new report has claimed.
Holloway, in Parkhurst Road, was the largest women’s prison in Europe before it closed in summer 2016.
The “After Holloway” report, by Women in Prison and the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, was released today. It claims the closure “caused significant distress and anxiety among prisoners and led to many women being imprisoned further away from home, hindering visits from family and children”.
Dr Kate Paradine, chief executive of Women in Prison, said: “The closure of Holloway caused a ripple across the prison estate with an increase in numbers of women coming into the other prisons with high complex needs and rooms doubling up – resulting in more noise and chaos.”
The prison site is now subject to a community battle to keep it out of the hands of private developers. For the latest on the campaign, click here.
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