ABSTRACT
Prisons are all subject to the Prison Rules and to central control by Prison Service HQ. They vary according to their function, size and security classification. But each prison also has an individual character stemming from its locality, history and tradition. Since 1993 the scope for individuality has increased, following the recommendation of the Woolf Report that governors should be given more responsibility for managing their own prisons. By 1995 governors had a good deal of autonomy in regard to business planning and budget control,1 and at the time of our updating visits in 1996 this devolution was continuing. Thus, within limits, governors could respond in different ways to the recent pressures and changes described in Chapter 1.
