Peter Lazenby
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A PRISON in Greater Manchester is facing a “near tsunami” of drugs, high levels of violence, self-harm and failing infrastructure, inspectors have found.
The problems at HMP Hindley, near Wigan in Greater Manchester, mean it is facing an “uphill battle,” according to HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor.
Hindley is a category C training and resettlement prison for up to 600 men, of whom about a third are aged under 25.
Mandatory testing of prisoners found that 52 per cent had used illicit drugs at any one time.
The inspectors’ report said: “The availability and use of illicit drugs posed a critical threat to the security of the prison, contributing to prisoner debt, bullying and fear.
“The positive drug testing rate at Hindley was the highest of all prisons in England and Wales, and work so far to tackle this crisis had achieved minimal impact.”
Howard League for Penal Reform chief executive Andrea Coomber said: “Hindley is supposed to be a training prison, helping people to move on from crime and prepare for the future.
“But instead we see hundreds of men locked inside their cells while drug use, violence and self-harm are rife.
“This prison needs enough staff on duty to get men out of their cells and into exercise, education, work and training.”
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “We have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs in prison and through our new drug-free units, like the one at HMP Hindley, we are helping the highest-ever proportion of offenders overcome their addiction.”
Prison Officers Association (POA) general secretary Steve Gillan said it had warned about the prison’s “lack of staff and lack of experienced staff” for some time.
