More than half of the men tested for drugs at HMP & YOI Hindley tested positive, giving the prison the highest rate in England and Wales, according to the prison inspectorate.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons published its report on the jail near Wigan in March 2024, after an inspection that ended in December 2023. Mandatory drug testing had revealed a positive rate of over 52%.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, described “the near tsunami of illegal drugs in the prison”. He said drugs, together with boredom and inactivity, were a key reason the prison was still not safe enough.
Hindley holds adult men and young adults aged 18 to 25. Just over a third of the population were young adults. The prison held 593 men at the time, against an operational capacity of 600.
Grades unchanged since 2017
The inspectorate tests every prison against four healthy prison tests: safety, respect, purposeful activity and preparation for release. Purposeful activity covers education, work and time out of cell.
Inspectors rated Hindley not sufficiently good for safety and respect. They rated purposeful activity as poor, the lowest grade. Preparation for release was reasonably good.
These grades matched those from the previous full inspection in 2017. The Chief Inspector of Prisons said many fundamental weaknesses from that visit had not changed. He listed a run-down environment, a poor regime and the prevalence of drugs.
Inspectors raised 12 key concerns, six of them priorities that need immediate attention. The inspectorate later carried out an independent review of progress, published in September 2024.
Combined with the indolence, boredom and frustration created by the inactivity of the regime, a key causal factor was the near tsunami of illegal drugs in the prison.
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
Drugs, violence and self-harm
The report described the availability of illicit drugs as a critical threat to the security of the prison. Drugs fed prisoner debt, bullying and fear. Work to tackle the problem so far had achieved minimal impact.
Many men arrived at Hindley with a drug problem already. Inspectors noted that many prisoners had known links to organised criminal gangs, and said organised criminality will have influenced the results.
Recorded violence was very high. Inspectors said drugs and a poor regime drove much of it.
Self-harm was high and rising. There had been 494 incidents in the previous 12 months, which put Hindley in the top three among comparable prisons.
Staffing problems made things harder. A very high turnover of prison officers left many staff inexperienced. Too many lacked the confidence to supervise prisoners or challenge low-level poor behaviour.
Not enough key work took place, and some men received none at all.
Too much time locked up
Part of Hindley’s role is to train prisoners. Yet inspectors found far too little purposeful work, education or training. Nearly a third of prisoners had no job or education place.
During roll checks, inspectors found about half of all prisoners locked up during the working day. A further 28% worked only part time.
Leaders had failed to provide enough work, skills or education places for the population. They also failed to fill all the places that did exist. Men in full-time work often lacked time out of cell for domestic tasks or outdoor exercise.
Ofsted, which inspected education alongside the prison inspectors, judged the overall effectiveness of provision as requires improvement. It found some positive aspects.
Leaders had brought in a new daily routine to make the regime more predictable. It had not yet bedded in, and at the time it caused considerable frustration among prisoners.
A crumbling site and signs of good practice
Hindley opened as a borstal in 1961, and new wings followed in 1997. Inspectors said the prison was showing its age. Accommodation was cramped and often overcrowded, and the showers and kitchen were in poor condition.
A planned expansion that would add new accommodation had slipped to at least 2027. The Chief Inspector of Prisons said the delay had created a planning blight, which held back investment. He wrote: “Serious investment cannot come soon enough.”
Even so, inspectors found no sense of helplessness. They described leaders as committed and passionate. Staff and prisoners worked hard to keep the prison clean.
The Acorn unit, a psychologically informed planned environment known as PIPE, impressed inspectors. They also recorded four examples of notable positive practice.
One was a complex needs strategy, under which leaders took personal responsibility for named prisoners. Chaplaincy staff had built gardens and a mini farm around the chapel, where men in crisis could spend time. A twinning scheme with Manchester City Football Club mixed football with employability coaching for young adults. Managers also ran quieter visit sessions twice a month for prisoners with neurodivergent conditions.
The Chief Inspector of Prisons set out three priorities. He called for leaders to build staff capability, confront drugs and move prisoners into useful activity that will motivate them.
About this story
This story is based on HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ report on HMP & YOI Hindley, published on 12 March 2024, following an inspection that ended in December 2023. All figures and judgements are the inspectorate’s. Read the full inspection report · See the prison’s profile in our directory.
