There's a crisis at Strangeways, but we might not know the half of it

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for HMP Manchester has not produced its required annual inspection reports for the last three years, raising concerns about oversight at the troubled Victorian prison, commonly known as Strangeways. The IMB cites fluctuating membership as the reason for the reporting failures, although they claim to have been monitoring the prison’s conditions. This is particularly pertinent as recent inspections revealed shocking issues like rampant drug abuse and sanitation problems, with the Chief Inspector of Prisons calling it “fundamentally not safe.” David Leech, from The Prisons Handbook, highlights the necessity for reform of the IMB, which was tasked to monitor one of the UK’s largest prisons. He questions how a statutory body can fail to meet its obligations for three consecutive years. Despite the reporting shortcomings, the IMB insists it is committed to improving its oversight and transparency and is currently working on a report for HMP Manchester. Meanwhile, HM Inspectorate of Prisons remains the main authority inspecting prisons in the UK.

Read the full article at Manchester Evening News