Prisons drugs crisis: ‘Dangerous culture of acceptance must be broken’ Justice Committee warns

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', a new report published today (October 31) by the Justice Committee has warned.

The ability of HM Prison and Probation Service to maintain safety and control, and offer effective rehabilitation, is being ‘critically undermined' by the scale of the drugs crisis within the prison system, the cross-party Committee chaired by Labour MP Andy Slaughter concluded.

Without urgent reform to tackle the demand for drugs, the lucrative profits fuelling supply networks and the poor condition of the prison estate, this failing and unstable system will continue at ‘unacceptable human cost', it said.

‘Menu of drugs'

Widespread and increasing availability of illicit substances normalises drug use in prisons and makes their presence inescapable, the Committee cautioned, 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. It called on the Ministry of Justice to increase Mandatory Drug Testing rates to at least pre-pandemic levels, including speeding up plans to introduce wastewater-based surveillance to identify new substances. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigated 833 deaths between December 2022 and December 2024, with 136 (16 per cent) classified as drug-related.

The significant shift towards the use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), most notably synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic opioids such as Nitazenes poses a ‘volatile threat' due to their affordability, accessibility and their potency. The report said the MoJ and HMPPS must take urgent steps to update prison drug testing methods to enable their detection and ensure robust data collection. It also recommended HMPPS should conduct an urgent review of all prescription medication dispensing procedures within prisons to identify and close loopholes. 

Debt and violence

Drug-related debt and exploitation are fundamental drivers of violence, coercion and systemic instability within the prison estate, the report found. The prevalence of drugs creates a shadow economy where debts, which can accrue up to £10,000, are collected through intimidation and violence. The consequences extend beyond the prison walls, with criminal networks coercing family members to pay a prisoner's debt, sometimes through sexual favours, smuggling or cuckooing. Those in debt are routinely exploited, being forced to test new drugs, hold weapons, assault staff, and undermine security.  

Drones and Organised Criminal Gangs (OCGs)

The rapid increase in drones and the capability to deliver not only large quantities of drugs and mobile phones, but also weapons and potentially firearms and explosives, is an extremely serious threat to the safety and security of prisons, the report warned. HMPPS records indicate a 770 per cent increase in drone sightings around prisons between 2019 and 2023. Current drug detection technologies, it added, are being outpaced by the sophistication of drones and the criminal networks behind them and requires a more robust and urgent response than has been provided to date.

Existing partnerships with police and the National Crime Agency aimed at tackling drone incursions are not sufficient, MPs said, adding that the MoJ and HMPPS must employ dedicated intelligence-sharing protocols and joint task forces to specifically target the organised criminal gangs behind drone-related activity and the flow of illicit mobile phones. 

A clear and sufficiently resourced strategy is needed to address the evolving nature of drone technology such as the potential for drone-facilitated escapes. All high-risk prisons should be put in a position to deploy comprehensive anti-drone technology and implement upgraded physical security measures within 24 months.  

The Committee said the MoJ must urgently adopt the 'Sky Fence' system or equivalent signal disruption technology across the prison estate.HMPPS must also urgently collaborate with law enforcement and financial institutions to develop and deploy systems capable of tracking electronic transactions linked to known or suspected OCG activity in the prison context, it said.

Individuals identified as key OCG operators must be managed under enhanced security protocols and segregated from the general prison population to prevent them from exploiting vulnerable prisoners and staff to maintain their "clean profile”, it said. Collaboration between HMPPS and law enforcement agencies, such as the National Crime Agency and local police, is critical in identifying and disrupting the OCGs behind drone operations.

Drivers of drug demand

Prison overcrowding, a lack of purposeful activity and poor mental health support exacerbates the existing drivers of drug demand and undermines rehabilitation efforts, the report said. MPs called on the MoJ to expand access to education, vocational training, accredited work programmes and constructive recreational opportunities to prevent prisoners turning to drugs as a result of boredom. The MoJ should provide an update on its progress by April 2026. 

The significant number of drug-related medical emergencies or 'code blues' in some prisons adds to staff pressures and creates a self-perpetuating cycle where boredom and lack of purpose contribute to the demand for drugs. Prison staff, the report warned are not only exposed to violence and abuse but are directly at risk of serious medical harm from inhaling second-hand drugs. HMPPS, the report said, must take immediate action to investigate and resolve the causes of such incidents. 

On vetting, MPs recommended HMPPS must immediately commit to aligning its personnel vetting requirements with those of other tier-one security and law enforcement agencies, such as the Police. It should also amend its recruitment pipeline to ensure that all frontline staff, including prison officers, undergo a mandatory face-to-face interview process led by prison governors.  

Counter measures

The report warned of a systemic failure to maintain physical security which acts as prisons' first line of defence. Operational effectiveness is being defeated by avoidable delays in maintenance, inadequate resourcing and overly bureaucratic procurement processes. The structural integrity of the prison estate and the speed of repairs for critical security infrastructure, such as netting and windows, are currently insufficient to meet the threat posed by drug throwovers and drone deliveries. Governors must be empowered with delegated authority and a streamlined process to rapidly procure and repair essential security infrastructure, particularly perimeter netting and functional CCTV systems, within a mandatory timeframe; for example, 72 hours for critical repairs.

Support

The Committee called on the MoJ and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to overhaul the current commissioning model for prison-based substance misuse treatment services. The new model, it said, must require direct and active involvement from prison governors and relevant local authorities in the design, delivery and oversight of substance misuse services. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigated 137 post-release deaths (within 14 days of release) between September 2021 and December 2023, finding that 83 (61 per cent) were drug-related. Of which, 20 deaths occurred within a single day of release. The human cost of lives damaged and lost to re-offending as a result of unaddressed drug issues is incalculable, it concluded.

Chair of the Justice Committee and Labour MP Andy Slaughter MP said: “The Committee's findings during this inquiry were sobering: put simply the drugs crisis across the prison system has reached ‘endemic' levels, fostering a ‘dangerous culture of acceptance that must be broken'. 

“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.

Fuelled by inflated profits, the supply of drugs by organised criminal gangs into prisons is a constant pressure. This is compounded by failure to address and reduce the underlying demand for drugs and combat the alarming rise in the use of sophisticated drone technology. 

“Highly potent New Psychoactive Substances are driving increases in violence, debt, and fatal overdoses, with the current testing regime failing to keep pace. Without urgent reform and investment that tackles the profitable supply networks, the discrepancies in treatment provision and purposeful activity, plus the poor physical condition of the estate, prisons will remain unstable, unsafe and incapable of gaining control over the drugs crisis.”