Overcrowding
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Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA): 128
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Population: 102
One of only two women’s open prisons in England and Wales, Askham Grange is a small Victorian prison built in 1886 as a country family house. The National Offender Management Service announced Askham Grange’s closure in 2013, but the decision has been challenged and the prison currently remains open.
Read Askham Grange’s latest inspection report here.
About this information
Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) is the prison service’s own measure of how many prisoners can be held in decent and safe accommodation. Any occupancy above CNA means that the prison in question is overcrowded.
Restricted status: women placed on restricted status are deemed to pose a high risk to the public if they were to escape. They are held in closed women’s prisons, and sometimes placed in the segregation unit.
Closed prisons: the majority of women’s prisons are closed prisons. Women who are assessed as not being suitable for open conditions are held in these prisons.
Open prisons: there are two open prisons for women, Askham Grange and East Sutton Park. They hold women who have been assessed as posing a low risk.
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