Polar NE moves into prison sector with ‘game changing’ HMP Stirling project

A North East manufacturer has broken into a key new sector after supplying specialist windows for a major new prison. For almost 20 years, Polar NE has been a trusted NHS partner, creating lifesaving reduced-ligature windows and doors to mental health sites across Britain. Now the Middlesbrough-based company has completed a “game-changing” project at HMP Stirling. The £85m site is the first new women’s prison in Scotland in a generation, and the project is Polar’s first within the UK prison estate.

“HMP Stirling is a flagship project and we are proud to have played our part,” said James Hill, Managing Director of Polar NE. “Our innovative products are designed to prevent self-harm and save lives, and their use here shows the difference they can make in an environment where safety must always come first. We see this as a major step into a market where we know our industry-leading expertise can really help.”

And the need for help has never been greater, with Government statistics revealing that prison deaths are rising. There were 401 deaths in custody in the 12 months leading up to June 2025 – more than one a day – a 30 per cent year-on-year rise. Tragically, over a fifth of those were self-inflicted. Additionally, self-harm rates in both male and female prisons are at their highest level since records began in 2004, with charities repeatedly warning that too many inmates are at risk of taking their own lives.

To help slow the tide, Polar NE supplied and installed 120 Humber Two Secure windows – the company’s most popular window solution – along with additional Trent Secure fixed units at the new state-of-the-art prison. The groundbreaking windows still allow light and air into the cell but can’t be used to attach ligatures or be fully opened – ensuring they can’t be used to aid escape.

Their installation follows a previous Government commitment in the 2021 Prisons Strategy White Paper to deliver 290 anti-ligature cells across the UK’s prison estate.

The windows boost both security and independence for up to 100 women at the ‘Scandinavian-style’ HMP Stirling. The prison has already won a raft of awards for its trailblazing style, whilst being hailed as a blueprint for modern custodial design.

And with windows and doors used in almost 60 per cent of suicides in mental health sites, Polar NE hope that prison governors across the UK explore how they can make their sites safer.

“Like the NHS, budgets are under immense strain, and we recognise the challenges the prison estate faces,” added James.

“We passionately believe safer cells, with modern reduced-ligature windows and doors, make a real, tangible difference in cutting incidents of self-harm and suicide.”