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Work as a prison officer at HMP Gartree

You need to enjoy working in a team and be resilient to be a prison officer.

Sound like you?

Apply now

About HMP Gartree

Three miles outside the historic market town of Market Harborough in Leicestershire, HMP Gartree is a high security men’s prison.

With a capacity of up to 700 men, many of its prisoners are serving long-term or life sentences.

Inside HMP Gartree

With a focus on supporting men to reduce their risk of reoffending, HMP Gartree provides a range of offending behaviour rehabilitation programmes as well as work and education opportunities.

Most of HMP Gartree’s prisoners work in onsite workshops or the prison’s gardens.

The workshops provide individuals with an opportunity to learn a wide range of new skills including textile manufacturing, recycling, woodwork and plastic injection moulding.

Working in the prison’s substantial grounds, prisoners learn horticultural skills and contribute to the local community by supporting Britain in Bloom events in Market Harborough.

Onsite opportunities to help prisoners gain work experience

An onsite Prison Information Technology Academy provides advanced training in information technology and CISCO-accredited training. Prisoners can also learn web design and desktop publishing, including opportunities to get involved in publication of the prison’s newspaper.

HMP Gartree also provides a recording service for local and regional Talking Newspapers, which are sent free to people with registered sight loss across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

The prison works with a number of partner organisations to provide a range of education and vocational courses, including basic literacy and numeracy as well as subjects such as cookery and barbering and construction skills. Further education opportunities are offered through distance learning and the Open University.

Staff benefits

As an employee of HMP Gartree, you’ll have access to a range of facilities and employee benefits including:

This is in addition to the great benefits you get from being a part of HM Prison and Probation Service.

How to get to HMP Gartree

With plenty of on-site parking, HMP Gartree is easily accessible from Corby which is just 20 minutes away, and Leicester, which is a 30-minute drive. It takes about 40 minutes to drive from Northampton.

The prison is just under 4 miles from Market Harborough and a number of local buses run to the prison. A free taxi service to and from the train station is available on Saturdays and Sundays.

Find HMP Gartree on a map (opens in a new tab).

A word from the Governor at HMP Gartree

I’m extremely proud of all our staff and the incredible work they do each day. Prison officers play an essential role in changing the lives of those in custody, as well as keeping our prisons safe. The role can be challenging, but it’s also very rewarding. It’s the team we have at HMP Gartree that makes this such an enjoyable place to work. They come from all walks of life and are passionate about making a positive difference in the lives of the men we work with.
Babafemi Dada, Governor at HMP Gartree


Find out more about the prison officer role

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