Fourteenth Report of the Inspectors, Vol. 3

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Excerpt from Fourteenth Report of the Inspectors, Vol. 3: Appointed Under the Provisions of the Act 5& 6 Will, IV. C. 38 to Visit the Different Prisons of Great Britain It may safely be asserted that this prison is one of the best regulated in the district, and when the great disadvantages are taken into account under which it labours for want of space for the due accommodation of the prisoners, the order and method conspicuous in every part of its arrangements are highly creditable to the authorities. So small is the extent of the area occupied by the prison, that in order to procure the means of lodging the male prisoners separately, the dormitories have been divided, under the direction of the present governor, into small sleeping-cells, by which subdivision, the prisoners are prevented from seeing each other in bed, although their very near proximity admits of the inmates of the neighbouring cells holding converse together. In some of the male dormitories, which are separated, even by a wall, from similar rooms, inhabited by female prisoners, it has been ascertained by experiment that conversation can be carried on between the men and women from their cells. Both the governor and chaplain, and I may add the magistrates also, are fully impressed with the evils I allude to, to the existence of which, also, the punishment-book bears but too intelligible testimony. A considerable time ago the magistrates applied to the Secretary of State for permission to extend the enclosure of the prison, by carrying the boundary-wall around a small piece of ground to the west of the present boundary. This application having been approved of by the Secretary of State, the new wall was completed, and the old one removed before my last visit, or I should have suggested a more complete measure of relief to the great and growing evil of want of room. True it is that, by the change which has been made, room has been obtained for a building capable of accommodating 22 additional prisoners, which is no small acquisition under the present circumstances, but it must be borne in mind, that these prisoners will be lodged in the same objectionable way as those I have before adverted to, while all the original evils will remain unabated. Feeling that a very favourable opportunity presented itself for making a more extensive improvement in the prison, by taking advantage of the whole plot of ground possessed by the county in that situation, of which not more than one-half is now occupied by the existing building, I considered it my duty to represent to the Secretary of State, the very objectionable manner in which the prisoners are now crowded together, and the course which, in my opinion, was the best adapted to supply a remedy. This representation has led to the further consideration of the question of building, and there is now every probability that a measure will be adopted, in all respects calculated to meet the requirements of the county. It now seems probable, that not only the whole of the remaining land in the occupation of the county will be included within the walls, but that by a change in the course of a lane, which now skirts the wall on the eastern side, a material addition may be obtained, which will admit of the projected building being placed upon a more desirable level, besides being in other respects more satisfactorily carried out, and this with little additional cost to the county. It is much to be desired that the projected new prison should be built upon a scale of sufficient extent, not only to receive the maximum amount of its present population, but also the additional numbers that may be contributed from other jurisdictions in and out of the county. The prison of Bodmin, being the only one in the county of Cornwall possessing the means of classifying prisoners according to the provisions of A