History
In 1961, Hindley Prison opened as a Borstal. In 1983 it was re-classified as a Youth Custody Centre. Hindley was then re-classified as an adult prison. In 1997 it became a joint prison and Young Offenders Institution.
In 2002, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons recorded many good initiatives taking place at Hindley, particularly in suicide prevention, drugs strategy, sentence planning and joint work with the police service to monitor and act on racial incidents. However the Inspector criticised inadequate reception procedures, insufficient purposeful activity and patchy help with resettlement at the prison.[3]
In December 2004 a security alert was sparked when two inmates staged a rooftop protest at Hindley Prison.[4] On 5 October 2005, over 100 extra staff were drafted in to deal with a riot at the prison. The riot caused more than £145,000 damage and it took more than seven weeks to fully restore the wing.[5]
