source: politics.co.uk
published: 15 August 2014
At night, the shouting starts. When the lights go out at Hindley, the young offenders institute, you can hear the intimidating shout-outs, the insults and threats from other boys kept there. Staff have tried to stop it, but they’ve failed.
The shouting is part of an atmosphere of violence and fear which permeates the institution. On average, there is one fight or assault every day. There were 251 reports of bullying and 167 incidents of self-harm in six months.
In January 2012, Jake Hardy, a 17-year-old at Hindley, was found hanging in his cell. He was one of 16 children to die in custody since 2000. The inquest into his death detailed a dozen failures by the state which contributed to his death.
While the inquest was taking place, the inspector of prisons was conducting an unannounced inspection.
