Overview
- An HM Inspectorate of Prisons report published Tuesday found HMP Manchester remains fundamentally unsafe 18 months after an urgent warning, with one of the highest drug test positivity rates and serious assaults in the prison system.
- Inspectors say organised crime uses drones to drop drugs through broken or insecure windows left unrepaired for two years, with some prisoners melting panes using kettle filaments to reach packages and with failing CCTV and torn yard netting widening gaps.
- Four men have died by suicide since the last inspection and self-harm is extremely high, while many prisoners spend long periods locked in cells with little purposeful activity.
- Staffing sits about 30% below its full complement and sickness is very high, which leads to frequent regime cancellations, and education has been cut by more than half with Ofsted rating provision inside the prison as inadequate.
- Leaders hired a small anti‑drone team and police arrested suspected smugglers, but progress on fitting secure windows, grilles and upgraded CCTV has stalled in planning and procurement, as the Ministry of Justice says urgent work is underway.