Ministers “recognise that drug use in prisons is
too high and share the Committee's concern about the risks this
poses, both to safety and to our 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 (Friday, 9 January),
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 31
October 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 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.”
