Videos claiming to be filmed inside HMP Forest Bank in Pendelbury have been shared on social media, sparking outrage that prisoners have access to illicit mobile phones.
Fresh videos on viral social media site TikTok appear to show that inmates at Forest Bank are filming fresh content and uploading it from their cells.
The music videos show numerous inmates gesturing to the camera and miming to rap music; they claim to have been filmed ‘on the wings’.
The ‘Category B’ men’s prison is home to 1,364 inmates, made up of both convicted and sentenced criminals as well as those on remand waiting for their trial.
The prison has already been criticised by the prison watchdog for their lack of action on illicit items being smuggled in including mobile phones, drugs, and weapons.
At the start of this year, it was revealed that a music video by a Liverpool rapper had been filmed on the wings and landing of the Salford prison whilst he was serving time.
A report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons in 2022 raised the issue as a key concern stating that “Illicit items such as mobile phones and drugs had been easily available in the prison” and that their availability had contributed to debt-related violence.
The report went on to say that the amount of contraband that made it into the prison was concerning: “Illicit items, such as mobile phones and drugs, had been entering the prison in very large numbers, primarily in parcels thrown into exercise yards. In the six months ending December 2021, 1379 parcels had been thrown over, but only 26% of them had been recovered.”
Sodexo, the private contractor who runs HMP Forest Bank, has said they are investigating the matter.
An HMP Forest Bank spokesperson said: “The use of mobile phones in any prison is illegal, and we constantly review our activity to tackle the issue. Our staff deploy a range of tactics to stop illicit items being introduced to the prison and have robust searching procedures in place.
“Where individual prisoners are identified and found in possession of mobile phones, action is taken and reported to the relevant authorities.”
Videos shared on sites including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have shown the extent to which illegal mobile phones have been smuggled into the prison estate.
Dr Naomi Murphy, who is the presenter of the Locked Up Living podcast and has spent decades working in prisons said that the availability of phones in any prison is a concern.
Dr Murphy also said: “To me that communicates: ‘It’s a prison that isn’t in control of what’s going on.'”
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