Drug use in prisons is ‘too high’ ministers acknowledge as Justice Committee warns of ‘dangerous culture of acceptance’
Ministers recognise that drug use in prisons is “too high” and share the Justice Committee’s concern about the “risks this poses, both to safety and to efforts to reduce reoffending”, the Government has acknowledged.
In its response to the Justice Committee’s report on Tackling the Drugs Crisis in our Prisons, published today (January 9), the Government said: “We are taking action through the Sentencing Bill to place the prison population on a sustainable footing, and create the conditions required to tackle the key challenges in our prisons.”
The Justice Committee’s report published on October 31 warned the use of illicit drugs and the trade in them across prisons has reached “endemic” levels, fostering a “dangerous culture of acceptance that must be broken”.
The report warned widespread and increasing availability of illicit substances normalises drug use in prisons and makes their presence inescapable, noting 39 per cent of prisoners find it easy to acquire drugs.
The situation is made worse by the high number of people entering prison with an existing addiction and the worrying trend of prisoners who had no prior issues developing a drug habit once exposed to the ‘menu of drugs’ available.
Eleven per cent of men and 19 per cent of women said they had developed a problem with drugs, alcohol or medication not prescribed to them since arriving in prison, the report said.
The Government response added: “Ongoing efforts are focused on creating a safer, recovery-focused system which tackles the threat of drug ingress, improves support for prisoners in treatment, keeps people safe, and equips staff with the skills and tools they need.”
Two recommendations were rejected relating to mandatory timeframes for critical estate repairs and managing individuals identified as key OCG (organised crime group) operators.
Chair of the Justice Committee and Labour MP Andy Slaughter MP said: “The committee’s report laid bare a prisons drugs crisis at ‘endemic’ levels requiring an urgent multi-faceted response underpinned by the necessary funding to turn around a ‘dangerous culture of acceptance’.
“It is disappointing that of the 29 recommendations made, only eight have been accepted, two rejected and the rest ‘partially accepted’. When HM Prison and Probation Service’s ability to maintain safety and control, and offer effective rehabilitation is being critically undermined by the scale of the trade and use of illicit drugs, a selective response is not enough to grip and solve this wide-ranging issue.
“As the committee’s report recommended further immediate measures are needed to address and reduce the underlying demand for drugs and combat the alarming rise in the use of sophisticated drone technology.
“Without such reform and investment that tackles the profitable supply networks, the discrepancies in treatment provision and purposeful activity, plus the poor condition of the estate and serious capacity pressures, prisons will remain unstable, unsafe and incapable of gaining control over the drugs crisis.”