NCJ Number
95449
Date Published
1982
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This document reports on an inspection of England's H.M. Manchester Prison.
Abstract
The prison's functions are listed, including (1) to receive and hold male unsentenced prisoners committed to custody by the courts within the committal areas and (2) to receive and hold young offenders recalled to borstal training and to allocate them to training borstals. Inmate administration and facilities are described, and pressure placed on the sanitary and bathing facilities by overcrowding is discussed. The cramped visitors' complex (which caters to adult convicted prisoners and to young offenders) is evaluated, and the visitors' facilities, described as small, cramped, and poorly furnished, are criticized. Well-designed canteen facilities are reported, and other facilities, including libraries and legal aid units, are evaluated. Concern is expressed that workshop activities, and consequently work opportunities, are diminishing. The workshops, which could employ 500 prisoners, employ only 40; in addition, commercial accounts have been lost. Security arrangements at the prison are reviewed, and the construction of a new gate complex is recommended. Meal services are examined, and the food is characterized as tasty, well-presented, and reasonably varied. Attention is also given hospital and medical services, religious and spiritual care, and probation and aftercare services. The prison is reported to have achieved considerable efficiency in basic routines; however, a number of changes, including improvements in staff facilities, are recommended. The appendix presents a summary of recommendations.