Unless they are jailed for a particularly horrific crime the majority of newly convicted offenders will be placed in a higher Category prison before being reviewed once they are in the system. In general, most are re-categorized as B or C within the first few months. Once given their re-cat they are likely to be shipped to another prison either for an interim period or to live out the rest of their sentence.
Category A – ‘Those whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or national security’. Typically for example those convicted of offences such as murder, manslaughter, terrorism, rape, wounding with intent (GBH), robbery, serious firearm and explosives offences, offences against the state, those sentenced under the Official Secrets Act, or any attempts of those offences. There are a total of ten Category A prisons in the UK, eight are located in England and Wales, one in Scotland and one in Northern Ireland. HM Prison Belmarsh is an example of a Category A prison.
Category B – ‘Those who do not require maximum security, but for whom escape still needs to be made very difficult’. Typically for those convicted of the same types of offences as category A prisoners, but who are not judged to be as high risk or those who have served a long time as a category A prisoner with good behaviour/rehabilitation are sometimes downgraded to category B. HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs is an example of a Category B prison.
Category C – ‘Those who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who are unlikely to try to escape’. Typically for those convicted of minor offences and who are serving shorter sentences no more than a few years in length. Also, category B prisoners coming to the end of their sentence are sometimes downgraded to category C to prepare them for release. HM Prison Berwyn is an example of a Category C prison.
Category D – ‘Those who can be reasonably trusted not to try to escape and are given the privilege of an open prison’. Category D prisoners are held in “Open Prisons” in which they are trusted to be able to move freely around the prison without risk and who after completing a risk assessment may be allowed to work outside of the prison in the community or allowed short home visits for a set number of hours a week. Also, category C prisoners coming to the end of their sentence are sometimes downgraded to category D to prepare them for release. HM Prison Ford is an example of a Category D prison.