Bedford (HM Prison)

HMP Bedford

Bedford Prison (new block)
Location	Bedford, Bedfordshire
Security class	Adult Male/Category B
Population	506 (as of August 2008)
Opened	1801
Managed by	HM Prison Services
Governor	Ian Blakeman
Website	Bedford at justice.gov.uk

HMP Bedford is a Category B men's prison, located in the Harpur area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.

The prison has been on its current site since 1801 and was designed by the architect John Wing (1756-1826), who also designed the Bedford town bridge, the Infirmary and the House of Industry. The previous site was on the corner of the High Street and Silver Street, then known as Gaol Lane. The location is marked with a plaque in the pavement due to its connection with John Bunyan, being the probable place where he wrote The Pilgrim's Progress. Wing's original building included "...a turnkey's lodge, cells for debtors, felons and house of correction prisoners, hot and cold baths and an oven to purify infected clothing. The silence system was enforced with great severity, wooden partitions being placed between any two prisoners at work on the treadmill. Separate exercise was allowed in the yards, and meals were taken in the cells." The prison has been twice expanded, in 1849 and 1990.

In December 2009, the prison's own Independent Monitoring Board issued a report citing concerns over the high amount of prisoners serving life sentences being held at Bedford. The report praised mental healthcare provision and highlighted staff morale, prisoner's property and the visits booking line of the prison. However, the report praised levels of respect between staff and inmates at the jail, along with the prison's food provision and hygiene standards.

In June 2010, Donna Stanton, aged 27, a female prison officer from Bedford was convicted after it emerged that she had a sexual relationship with an inmate from the gaol. The prison officer had also smuggled a mobile phone, food, tobacco and newspapers into the prison for the inmate while he served his sentence. She was jailed for two years.