I want to take a moment now to revisit in the present day the prisons that were part of the Strangeways series of riots. Induction processes were reasonably good. Levels of violence had increased and were high and one in three prisoners felt unsafe. It was too soon to judge the effectiveness of promising work to reduce violence. The use of force was high and lacked sufficient scrutiny. The regime on the segregation unit was poor. Some aspects of security work were excellent.
The drug strategy was inadequate. There had been three self-inflicted deaths in the last six months. Levels of self-harm had increased and the care provided to prisoners in crisis was too variable. Outcomes for prisoners were not sufficiently good against this healthy prison test. Manchester Prison is committed to providing a safe and educational environment where men convicted of serious offences can make positive use of long sentences.
Every person at Manchester Prison has a right to feel safe. The staff are responsible for their safeguarding and welfare at all times. All safeguarding processes are overseen by the Manchester Safeguarding Partnership. When a prisoner first arrives at Manchester Prison, they will be able to contact a family member by phone. This could be quite late in the evening, depending on the time they arrive.
Each person who arrives at Manchester Prison gets an induction that lasts about a week. They will meet professionals who will help them with:. Around men live at Manchester Prison in a mixture of single and shared rooms. They are split across 9 wings in 2 blocks. There is a sports hall and several gyms offering a range of activities for prisoners of all physical abilities. Prisoners have access to education and training provided by Milton Keynes College. Classes include:. Vocational training courses include industrial cleaning, baking, catering warehousing and waste management.
Work is available in the textiles, printing and laundry workshops, as well as throughout the prison. All areas offer the chance to earn qualifications at the same time.
Manchester Prison also runs a number of accredited offending behaviour programmes. Find out about advice and helplines for family and friends. If you have a problem contact Manchester Prison. If you cannot resolve the problem directly, you can make a complaint to HM Prison and Probation Service. Telephone: Fax: Find out about call charges.
Follow Manchester Prison on Twitter. If you have concerns about the safety or wellbeing of a man in Manchester Prison, call the sharing concerns helpline.
This is an answerphone service that is checked frequently. Leave as much information as possible and a telephone number for staff to call you back. Added link to information about testing for physical contact at visits. Prison moved into National Stage 3 framework and is now preparing to open visits for family, friends and significant others.
Professor David Wilson, founding director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University, said: "I was in the prison service at the time of Strangeways and the man who started the riots, Paul Taylor, was one of the first prisoners I dealt with when opening a unit for the most disruptive prisoners in the country. Professor Wilson's comments come as a Prison Reform Trust report reveals Strangeways remains dangerously overcrowded 25 years on from the riot which claimed the lives of two men and left injured.
The trust's chairman Lord Woolf, who wrote the original raft of recommendations following Strangeways, has expressed concerns over continued overcrowding, and cites a preoccupation among politicians with winning votes and being seen to be 'tough on crime' as holding up reforms. Professor Wilson added: "Our history is one of pain and retribution, rather than optimism and progress.
I think it's fair to say that the government only allows people into prisons who aren't going to say anything critical. Dr Charlotte Barlow, a criminologist at Birmingham City University, added: "Lord Woolf's report remains highly relevant and if we look at the state of UK prisons today, with severe levels of overcrowding, high prison numbers, extreme levels of self-harm and many prisoners having a range of mental health issues, it is clearly the case that the system remains in crisis.
During the siege, many hundreds of people, from Manchester and beyond, crowded the surrounding areas. Burger vans arrived to feed the throngs and loud music blared from ghetto blasters. Supporters of the protest held up banners demanding change, and a full-blown media circus, from home and abroad, covered the disturbance. It ended when the last five prisoners surrendered and were brought down from the roof in a cherry picker. So what were we doing, back here again a quarter of a century on, looking up at at the prison, whose massive, glowering chimney still dominates the area after which the jail was named?
It was another protest , apparently echoing that of , against conditions in the prison. In , Horner, 35, was given a minimum sentence of 27 years for the murder of his uncle, who he shot dead at point-blank range. In March this year, Horner was moved to Manchester prison after staff found damage to the external wall of his cell at Garth prison, near Leyland in Lancashire. The damage was thought to be indicative of an escape attempt, and Horner was housed in the segregation unit at Manchester.
Last Sunday afternoon, he scaled a fence in an enclosed exercise yard and headed for the roof. Most were young, some with pyjama-clad toddlers in arms, pointing up at the roof and taking pictures with their smartphones. One group had set up a soundsystem, with twin speakers blaring out and the operators apparently taking requests from those at the party.
People were dancing the macarena in the street. One man had a microphone and was shouting words of support up at the roof. And despite a substantial police presence, an unmistakable whiff of cannabis permeated the mild evening air. Cars on the still-busy main road slowed down as drivers took in the scene, many blowing their horns.
Although just a one-man band, Horner was attracting crowds and creating an atmosphere that certainly took me back 25 years, to when I stood outside Strangeways almost every day during the riot. So what was Horner complaining about?
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