HM Prison Forest Bank

HM Prison Forest Bank

Location	Salford, Greater Manchester
Status	Operational
Security class	Adult Male/Category B
Capacity	1160
Opened	January 2000
Managed by	Kalyx
Director	Trevor Shortt

HM Prison Forest Bank is a Category B men's private prison, located in the Pendlebury area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England. The prison is operated by Kalyx.

History

Forest Bank Prison was constructed on the site of the former Agecroft Power Station. The 25-year design, construct, manage and finance (DCMF) contract was won by Kalyx (formerly UKDS) in 1997 and it opened in January 2000.

In November 2002 a report from Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons praised Forest Bank for its staff-prisoner relations, management structure, increased staffing levels and levels of association between inmates. However the report also noted that many of the prison staff at Forest Bank lacked experience and that there was insufficient purposeful activity, with fewer than half the prisoners engaged in meaningful work or education.

In 2004 it emerged that a prison officer at Forest Bank had been caught trying to sell heroin to inmates. The officer was caught with 147 wraps of the drug hidden in his shoes when he started his shift. The officer was jailed for the offence.

In March 2005 an inmate escaped from Forest Bank while being taken to hospital in a taxi. The prisoner was handcuffed to two prison officers as they travelled from the prison to the nearby Hope Hospital, when the taxi was stopped by two men who threatened the guards with a gun, forcing them to let the inmate free.

In December of the same year the prison was severely criticised by the Chief Inspector of Prisons for high levels of violence and drug taking amongst inmates. The inspection found that in one month alone more than 2 kg of cannabis, 60g of heroin and 4.6g of cocaine were found at Forest Bank, and 40 per cent of compulsory drug tests were positive. The report also found a significant deterioration in safety for staff and inmates at the prison with routine intimidation of staff, prisoner assaults on other prisoners running at 25 a month and staff turnover of 25 per cent a year. There had also been 2,500 prisoner discipline hearings in six months.

In February 2006 another inmate escaped from Forest Bank while visiting hospital. The prisoner managed to escape from two prison guards and fled from the Manchester Royal Infirmary wearing only a surgical gown.

The prison today

HMP Forest Bank is a Category B local prison although the majority of the inmates are category C. The term 'local' means that this prison holds people on remand to the local courts as well as sentenced prisoners. Adult inmates at Forest Bank come from the courts at Wigan, Leigh, Bolton and Bury. Young Offenders come from courts at Manchester, Oldham, Stockport, Trafford, Tameside, Rochdale and High Peak.

The prison is divided into six wings (A-F), a healthcare unit and a Care and Separation unit. Accommodation at the prison comprises mostly of single cells, with some double cells. All the cells are designed to be safer, having almost no ligature points due to modularisation being the method of construction. The Healthcare Unit at Forest bank has a 20-bed in-patient facility, with a 24 hour nursing care service. There is also a full time Senior Medical Officer and a Locum Medical Officer at the prison.

Activities at the prison include Production Workshops, Training Workshops and Vocational Training Courses in Motor Mechanics, Industrial Cleaning, Catering and Welding. There is a Visits Hall at Forest Bank, with facilities including a WRVS run canteen, and a play area for children aged 2-12 years.

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External links

• HM Prison Service pages on Forest Bank
• Information pages on Forest Bank from Kalyx