The Military Training Corrective Centre

Located (appropriately) on the site of a WW2 German PoW camp, the Military Corrective Training Centre (MCTC) at Colchester is the UK Armed Forces' one remaining corrective training establishment. It can hold up to 316 detainees from all three Services although in practice the population rarely exceeds 150.

There are three categories of detainees, Soldiers Under Sentence (SUS) or perhaps more correctly, Service persons Under Sentence:

• Firstly there are those who have committed a disciplinary offence but who will be returning to their unit after sentence (A Company). The majority of detainees fall into this category and the core of their sentence is taken up with military training to improve their efficiency, discipline and morale.
• Second, there are those whose offences are so significant, or so frequent that they will be discharged from the services after sentence (D Company). In most cases, detainees have breached military rules, rather than criminal law; and they are held in relatively open conditions. Their time at the MCTC is spent preparing for their resettlement in the community and therefore receive instruction and guidance that will help their assimilation back into civilian life. Trade training courses leading to recognised qualifications in artisan, computing and agricultural skills are provided together with basic skills (literacy and numeracy) and vocational training, "fitness for life" courses and work on community-based projects. A major aspect of the programme is devoted to resettlement needs - help with housing and employment and also with debt and alcohol problems.
• The third category consists of detainees who are under investigation, or awaiting trial or transfer to a civilian prison, for criminal offences. They are held in secure conditions (C Company).

MCTC staff come from all three services though the majority are members of the Military Provost Staff in the Adjutant General’s Corps.
Link> Military Provost Staff: Military Corrective Training Centre

There have been a couple of articles published on the Ministry of Defence's website in recent months describing some of the work the detainees carry out:

Link> MoD Defence news: Soldiers under sentence bring Christmas relief to homeless
This article (21/12/07) described how an SUS team helped out 'Crisis', the national charity for single homeless people, with its annual Crisis Open Christmas project.

Link> MoD Defence News: Chickens given refuge at military farm

This story (04/03/08) recounts how 150 rescued battery chickens are now being cared for on the farm at the MCTC.