New report takes a look at life inside HMP Buckley Hall
DODGY plumbing at a prison in Rochdale nearly led to a ‘full shut down’, a report has revealed.
HMP Buckley Hall is said to be ‘well past its original life expectancy’ and early last year major problems with the mains water supply almost resulted in a ‘mass relocation’ of hundreds of inmates.
The report from the Independent Monitoring Board found showers are ‘frequently closed’, and even when working are said to be ‘too hot or too cold’.
There’s also been problems with the electrics, which at one point required a portable generator to be fitted ‘at great expense’.
Elsewhere, the report, which assessed Buckley Hall between August 1, 2022 and July 31, 2023, also shines a light on conditions at a time of severe overcrowding in the prison system.
Buckley Hall, a category C male prison, which dates back to the 1940s, but was largely rebuilt in 1994, should hold 455 men, who would normally be serving sentences of at least four years.
But it was found to be accommodating 469 inmates, who were often serving shorter sentences.
Inspectors also raised concerns about inmates serving imprisonment for public protection sentences, which have no fixed term, meaning they have no idea when they will be released.
Despite being scrapped in 2012 there were still 45 men at
Buckley Hall serving IPP sentences at the start of July. In 2023, the Government rejected calls to resentence prisoners detained indefinitely.
Inspectors said the decision had a ‘very negative impact, especially on those men who have never been released’.
They wrote: “When are these men going to be allowed the opportunity to prove that they do not pose a risk to the public and what support will be put in place to assist their reintegration into society?”
In the first six months of last year, there were 169 incidents of self-harm at Buckley Hall and one death in custody.
There were also 36 violent incidents between prisoners and 18 attacks by inmates on prison officers. Use of force by guards also increased significantly, up from six incidents to 31.
One incident witnessed by inspectors, in which an ‘elderly, stooped’ prisoner was handcuffed to a guard for a hospital visit, was said to have given ‘some cause for concern’.
But the report, published last month, also praised the way prisoners are treated on arrival at Buckley Hall.
The variety of sports and fitness activities - including badminton leagues, yoga sessions and the chance to take part in Saturday morning parkruns was also highlighted.
Staff are said to be giving up their own time to run knitting, chess and guitar sessions.
The report said a ‘lot of work’ was being done to prevent contraband such as drugs and mobile phones being smuggled into Buckley Hall.
Sniffer dogs were being used more frequently and extra staff were being drafted in to patrol the perimeter.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “The water supply issue was fixed within a matter of hours and prisoners were given continual access to water throughout.
“While levels of violence and self-harm at HMP Buckley Hall are low, we’re improving safety at the prison by further rolling out CCTV and providing specialist training to staff.”