As part of its commitment to build 20,000 new jail beds, the British Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has inaugurated a new prison to aid in reducing crime, rehabilitating prisoners, and boosting the local economy.
HMP Fosse Way is Britain's newest prison and was officially opened today by Justice Secretary Alex Chalk.
According to the British Government, Prisoners at HMP Fosse Way, in Leicester, will spend their time in jail learning new skills and getting trained in vital industries so they can find work immediately when back in the community and plug labour gaps.
This ethos has already been put into action, with 71 prisoners and two ex-offenders employed in the construction of the new jail. With 24 workshops and a large number of classrooms, skills learned by offenders will include how to drive construction vehicles in a simulator, manufacture glasses, and construct concrete components and lighting equipment that can be used in future prison builds.
HMP Fosse Way is the second of six state-of-the-art prisons that utilise the latest designs and innovations to boost security, rehabilitate offenders, and protect the public by helping prisoners find work, which is proven to cut their chance of reoffending.
It is also the greenest prison ever constructed in the UK, thanks to greener fuels, renewable energy, and electric construction machinery.
And today's opening means the government has now built more than 5,000 of the 20,000 places promised as part of its 4 billion pounds construction program-the biggest expansion of the prison estate since the Victorian era.
The new Category C prison will house 1,715 prisoners and create 600 jobs, on top of the 500 delivered during construction work, including 71 ex-offenders and prisoners released on temporary licence. These prisoners were subject to thorough risk assessments prior to their temporary release.
