Women have their own version of the categorisation system: Restricted Status, Closed Status and Open Status, which correspond roughly to Cat A, Cat B/C and Cat D in the male estate. The same IEP rules apply, except that women are allowed to wear their own clothing at every IEP level, not just once they’ve earned it. Women with young children, or who are heavily pregnant, may be held in a Mother and Baby Unit.
The information on this page is based on the law in England & Wales. If you’re in Scotland, click here for the guide for your jurisdiction. If you’re in Northern Ireland, click here for that guide.
Anyone under 18 is legally a child, not an adult prisoner, and children aren’t held in adult prisons at all – they go through the youth secure estate instead, in a Young Offender Institution for children, a Secure Training Centre or a Secure School, run to a very different regime with a much stronger focus on education and welfare. Once you turn 18 you move into the young adult population; by 21 you’re treated as a fully adult prisoner, usually on ordinary wings alongside older prisoners, though some establishments still run separate units for younger adults.
| Types of prison and prisoners | Incentives and Earned Privileges |
| People you will deal with each day | Daily Timetable |
| Assaults and Bullying | Offenders with learning difficulties |