Editing HM Prison Dartmoor (section)

==Modern operations==
[[File:Princetown - HM Prison Dartmoor (geograph 5487986).jpg|thumb|right|Dartmoor prison {{circa|2017}}]]
Dartmoor continues to suffer from its age. In 2001 a [[Board of Visitors]] report condemned sanitation, as well as highlighting a list of urgent repairs needed.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1656099.stm | work=BBC News | title=Dartmoor prison sanitation 'unacceptable' | date=14 November 2001}}</ref> A year later, the prison was converted to a Category C prison for less violent offenders. In 2002, the [[Prison Reform Trust]] warned that the prison might be breaching the [[Human Rights Act 1998]] due to severe overcrowding.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2266627.stm | work=BBC News | title=Dartmoor breaches Human Rights | date=19 September 2002}}</ref> A year later, however, the Chief Inspector of Prisons declared that the prison had made substantial improvements to its management and regime.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/3066953.stm | work=BBC News | title=Prison praised for progress | date=15 July 2003}}</ref>

In March 2008, staff at the prison passed a [[vote of no confidence]] in the governor Serena Watts, claiming they felt bullied by managers and unsafe.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7305479.stm | work=BBC News | title=Dartmoor prison staff 'bullied' | date=19 March 2008}}</ref>

Dartmoor is now a Category C prison, which means it houses mainly non-violent offenders and [[White-collar crime|white-collar criminals]]. It also holds people with convictions for sexual offences, but it is designated as a support site only for these individuals, and as such does not offer treatment programmes for them.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/847257/hmp-dartmoor-action-plan-march-2018.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200528024338/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/847257/hmp-dartmoor-action-plan-march-2018.pdf |archive-date=2020-05-28 |url-status=live|title=Action Plan: HMP Dartmoor|publisher=HM Prison & Probation Service|accessdate= 7 August 2021}}</ref>

Dartmoor operates cell accommodation on six wings. Education is available at the prison (full and part-time), and ranges from basic educational skills to [[Open University]] courses. Vocational training includes [[electronics]], [[brickwork]] and [[carpentry]] courses up to [[City & Guilds]] and [[NVQ]] level, [[Painting and Decorating]] courses, [[janitor|industrial cleaning]] and [[desktop publishing]]. Full-time employment is also available in catering, farming, gardening, laundry,  [[Braille]], contract services, furniture manufacturing and [[polishing]]. Employment is supported with NVQ or City & Guilds vocational qualifications.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dartmoor-prison|title = Dartmoor Prison| date=2 August 2022 }}</ref> All courses and qualifications at Dartmoor are operated by [[South Gloucestershire and Stroud College]] and [[Cornwall College (England)|Cornwall College]].

The "[[Dartmoor Jailbreak]]" is a yearly event, in which members of the public "escape" from the prison and must travel as far as possible in four days, without directly paying for transport. By doing so they raise money for charity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dartmoorprisonbreak.com/|title=Dartmoor Prison Break|website=www.dartmoorprisonbreak.com/|accessdate= 3 March 2020}}</ref>

In September 2013, it was announced that discussions would commence with the Duchy of Cornwall about the long-term future of HMP Dartmoor.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article3860342.ece|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200226131406/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/politics/article3860342.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 February 2020|title=Dartmoor Prison set to close in latest jail shake-up|last1=Ford|first1=Richard}}</ref> In January 2014 it was stated on the BBC news website that the notice period with the Duchy for closing is 10 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-25613528|title=Drug use and cell sharing 'still issues at Dartmoor Prison'|work=BBC News|date=6 January 2014}}</ref> In November 2015 the Ministry of Justice confirmed that, as part of a major programme to replace older prisons, it would not renew its lease on the prison.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34763339|title=Spending review: Nine new prisons to replace 'Victorian' jails| website =BBC News| date = 9 November 2015| access-date = 14 November 2015}}</ref>

It was announced in October 2019 that HMP Dartmoor would close in 2023,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/breaking-dartmoor-prison-close-2023-20721071|title = Government confirms Dartmoor Prison will close in 2023|website = [[Daily Mirror]]|date = 25 October 2019}}</ref> but in December 2021 it was confirmed that, following negotiations with the Duchy, it would remain open beyond 2023 and for the foreseeable future.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-12-22|title=Dartmoor Prison to stay open 'beyond 2023'|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-59755473|access-date=2021-12-28}}</ref>

The region, and the prison, is contaminated by hazardous [[radon]] gas generated by the decay of [[uranium]] in the region's bedrock, and prison walls. In 2023, 96 inmates of the prison were evacuated due to this. According to one source no inmates or staff are said to have suffered adverse health effects from radon poisoning at HMP Dartmoor,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Latchem |first1=Tom |last2=Evans |first2=Dan |last3=Tidy |first3=Rebecca |title=Prince William is Radiation Prison Landlord – Parts of UK's Oldest Jail Evacuated |url=https://bylinetimes.com/2024/01/05/prince-william-is-radiation-prison-landlord-parts-of-uks-oldest-jail-evacuated/|work=[[Byline Times]] |date=5 January 2024}}</ref> although this is disputed.<ref name=palmer/>

In 2024, Dartmoor's 682 prisoners were transferred to other prisons due to the unsafe levels of radon, and the prison closed for [[radon mitigation]]. While the closure was stated to be "temporary"<ref>{{cite web | title=Dartmoor Prison | website=GOV.UK | date=24 September 2024| url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dartmoor-prison#full-publication-update-history}}</ref> (although no planned reopening date was announced), Princetown villagers expressed doubt that the jail would ever reopen because of the complications of rehabilitating such an old building, although a new 25-year lease of the prison from the Duchy of Cornwall had been entered into in 2023.<ref name=palmer/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/ddf3b1c5-bb21-48dc-9203-2c13f4f526ac|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|title=Rat-infested prison that may never reopen pays Prince William's Duchy £1.5m a year|work=[[The Times]]|first=Katie|last=Tarrant|date=18 January 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120134309/https://www.thetimes.com/article/ddf3b1c5-bb21-48dc-9203-2c13f4f526ac|archive-date=20 January 2025}}</ref> Radon concentrations of 14 times the permissible limit have been recorded in the prison, and in 2025 about 500 inmates and staff, many of whom attributed serious health problems including [[cancer]]s to radon, were planning to sue the Ministry of Justice.<ref name=palmer>{{cite news| last=Palmer | first=Richard | title=A Dartmoor village is paying Prince William £1.5m-a-year for an abandoned prison |newspaper=The Guardian | date=13 April 2025|orig-date=Originally published 12 April 2025, corrected to state museum remained open| url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/12/a-dartmoor-village-is-paying-prince-william-15m-a-year-for-an-abandoned-prison-and-former-inmates-say-it-gave-them-cancer}}</ref>