Does anyone live very close to a prison or work in one?

[meltin]

A relative is house hunting and found one in budget that would give him far more space for his money than other options in the wider area, but is quite literally in the same street as the entrance to a prison ... a few doors away. It doesn't overlook the prison though, as its on the other side of the street. Its council tax band is also very low for its size, suggesting that the prison proximity is very much seen as lowering its value. So, my question is, what might be the negative impacts? Apart from the rarer risk of escapees, presumably its constant visitors and deliveries and maybe some noise. Has anyone experienced this or maybe worked in a prison so could give some insight?

Visiting time can be hectic and there's cars parked everywhere and random people wandering around. This one doesn't have much parking though. The other one, the inmates would throw toilet rolls with messages written on into the neighbouring gardens. I think they came from the Remand Centre though.

I worked in one in a very nice area in the medical unit.
The main problems were people sending drones in with drugs in them and dealers hanging around outside chucking stuff over the fence.
There were lots of rough types hanging about the back alleys. Also it had a high paedophile content and after discharge a good many of them stayed in the area.

Wouldn't bother me at all.

What would other me is other people's views when trying to sell the property 🤷‍♀️

Again, it depends entirely on the prison. Some of the nicest houses in my nearby town are opposite or alongside the Victorian prison. I walk past there every week and never see anyone other than the occasional officer go through what appears to be the main door. And I've never heard a sound from the other side of the walls. So I wouldn't be put off there at all.

When I was at uni a friend's student house actually had the perimeter wall of a large high security prison at the end of their yard. It was a bit of a novelty but they had zero issues...however they were rowdy students... probably kept the prisoners awake!!!

I live quite near a Cat B men's prison but not right by it.

Lots of comings and goings at all hours.

Occasional search helicopters and associated drama maybe 2-3 times per year

Security is always watching. Often our Amazon delivery vans get lost and stop too close to the prison but they get moved on sharpish and we don't get our delivery!

Our neighbours had a drone full of drugs crash land in their garden. That was interesting. Obviously, we are also in a restricted zone for drone flying.

Other than that, the students and schoolkids cause more noise and trouble.

Ex prison officer of 32 years and my back garden is across the road from the prison I retired from. No issues whatsoever, all new windows so don’t hear any shouting apart from the odd Happy New Year during the festive season. The road is a bit busy 7.30 - 8.00am and nothing until around 5.30 - 6pm. Absolutely love it here. Very quiet and secluded x

My grandfather was a prison guard and the family had a prison house outside the prison grounds. One night a prisoner escaped, broke into their house and raped my grandmother. My mum and uncle legged it to the kitchen to ring the alarm.

I live about 3 miles from HMP Frankland, saw 2 houses approx 0.5 miles from it, never ever in a million years.

A friend has lived in a house next door to a prison for 20 years. No problems as such It’s a nice quiet area with very little crime

The problem they have is that yes it was very affordable to purchase but 20 years later it’s value has not increased as much as all their friends who bought 20 years ago
So they have much less equity going into old age in comparison

Latchmere Prison. Do you remember a man was shot dead there about 20 years ago? The prison catered for men at the end of their sentences, and they went out on day release and someone was waiting for him. I do feel happier with it now being luxury homes!https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/8797.convict-shot-dead-yards-prison/

I grew up in a house one street up from a city prison, went to school with a lot of prison warder’s kids, tied housing for them nearby. Even applied for a job there myself, admin type job. The most exciting time was when some prisoners staged a roof top protest and we had a great view from our upstairs window. Prison now demolished and housing built on the site. Parking way more of a problem now, my mum still lives in same house.

I think I would prefer this to a medium actually as probably less undesirable visitors as most of their friends have probably moved on so just family visiting.

I should think it would b a lot safer than other streets!!

It's not escapees I'd be worried about its the folk coming to visit the prisoners. I bought a flat (without realising) next to a facility (half way house) and had dodgy folk hanging about every single day. Pals and family members of the people living in it. I was broken into 3 times in broad daylight as well. There's good reason for finding property that seems goid value in these locations.

I walk dog through fields behind a prison, and other than the smell of school dinners wafting out of it, usually nothing. I wouldn't have any concerns re security, I'd probably go during visiting times, and at several times of the day to see what's what.

Yesterday's walk though, there was loads of protracted banging like someone trying to kick their way out of a cell for ages, and really distressed shouting and screaming, which I wouldn't have wanted to live next to, I'll be honest.

I’ve worked in prisons for many years and it really depends on the sort of prison. Some house sex offenders, some don’t. Some have many releases a day whereas some house long term prisoners so hardly have any. Some are open prisoners where the prisoners leave every day to go to work/training etc. May even be a women’s prison. It’s worth looking up the type of prison, its population etc.

Thanks. It's Category 3 (men's)

I grew up with a prison at the end of the street. It was completely normal to me. We never had any issues that I was aware of.

Are you in England or Wales? They’re categorised A to D here, A- high security, B/C- closed conditions (remand jails are a B and hold sentenced as well as remand), D- open.

I used to live very close to a female prison and there were never any issues.

England. I meant category C.

I think that posters flagging the busy working environment are probably right. It's shift work, so a lot of coming and going. I know a few prison officers, there are late night visits to hospitals, people coming on and off shifts, food deliveries, relatives visiting.
Is there a recreation area? I fell in love with a house which backed on to an ambulance station, which was obviously busy. At night, it was very bright due to the lighting and lots of coming and going by all accounts. There was also a mental health hospital next door to that, when we went for the second viewing, you could hear people screaming and crying.
The house was gorgeous and I loved it, on a very pretty road, but I worried that the noise would be upsetting and the risk of escapees there was higher. I worried that the location would put people off if I wanted to sell again.
The house sellers pulled out of the sale in the end, and I was upset at the time, but now, I do wonder if the location would have been too much.
If it's a bargain and he loves it, then go for it, but be aware of the draw backs and be prepared to be on the market for a while if he decides to move on and the ceiling price that the property will certainly have due to it's position. Perhaps, if he's interested, he could ask for a few viewings at different times of the day to get a realistic expectation of what it will be like to live there.

I lived right beside Brixton prison and had no trouble at all.

I work in one. A few things depending on the category. Parking and traffic would be something to consider as its a busy workplace with high numbers of staff and contractors and visitors. Is there a large staff and visitor carpark or would people use local streets? All of this would only be an issue in normal working hours. Prisons are largely inactive and shut down at night, but shifts do start early. If there are sogs on site they can be noisy. Actual noise from inside not likely unless you're in a very quiet area. They do play music and shout to one another and there are alarms etc but it's not usually easy to overhear from outside of the walls, depending on the prison. Escapes also not at all likely, most escapes happen on escort. Drones could be an issue, many prisons are struggling with these and they use local streets to control them. Have a look at car and house insurance quotes for the area too. They're usually well presented at the entrance and people can't really just linger around but they will potentially release people too. Depending on the type of prison they may also provide court escorts which will make them generally busier - local remand prisons tend to have more people coming and going in comparison to the longer term places.

If it's a D cat there are very different considerations as the prisoners come and go

So incredibly unfortunate but also extremely rare.