HMP Long Lartin
Inspection report - Long Lartin (PDF, 1.6 MB)
Report on an unannounced inspection of HMP Long Lartin by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (30 September – 10 October 2024)
Long Lartin healthy prison scores
What we found
Inspections of HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in September and October revealed serious concerns with safety and security, with the situation at Manchester so bad that Mr Taylor issued an Urgent Notification for improvement to the Secretary of State.
Both jails had thriving illicit economies of drugs, mobile phones and weapons, and basic security measures such as protective netting and CCTV had been allowed to fall into disrepair. At Manchester prisoners were burning holes in supposedly secure windows so they could continue to receive regular deliveries by drone. Some of these had increasingly large payloads, which had the potential to lead to serious disruption and potential escape.
A staggering 39% of prisoners had tested positive in mandatory drug tests at Manchester, and at Long Lartin 50% of those who responded to our survey said it was easy to get drugs and alcohol. Violence and self-harm at both jails had increased, in part driven by drugs and the accompanying debt prisoners found themselves in.