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…t drugs were prevalent, with 60% of prisoners saying it was easy to obtain drugs and around a quarter testing positive for drugs. Living conditions for many in the prison were very poor. Mr Clarke commented: “My sense was that the situation had come to be regarded by many staff as normal.” There had also been six self-inflicted deaths since the last inspection, and apparently another within weeks of the 2018 inspection. Self-harm had risen by 40%….

Published: 09 October 2018

…und; security was managed reasonably well and although the availability of drugs, in particular new psychoactive substances, was a big problem, the prison was taking this seriously; some very good relationships between staff and prisoners was an institutional strength; most prisoners had a reasonable amount of time out of cell; and there was a good range of resettlement provision but a lack of reliable data meant it was difficult to establish how…

Published: 16 August 2016

…Drugs had been too readily available, but actions by the prison to reduce drugs supply seemed to have had some impact, and the positive drug testing rate had reduced to 21.49%. This was, however, still too high and supply reduction initiatives required greater coordination and drive. Nearly half of prisoners said it was easy to get drugs and almost one in four said they had developed a drug problem while at the prison. There had been no self-infl…

Published: 11 July 2019

…noted “a good focus on educating prisoners on the dangers of using illicit drugs. This included the introduction of a six-week locally developed gym course (‘Tackling drugs through sport’), which focused on issues such as healthy lifestyles and the effects of drugs on the body, while providing all participants with a weekly health test. Several other useful initiatives had been developed […] such as overdose awareness events, drug forums and roads…

Published: 18 December 2019

…ther self-inflicted death,” Mr Clarke added. Leeds also had a problem with drugs, with over 60% of prisoners saying it was easy to get hold of drugs. Against this, however, inspectors noted that there was an “energetic and focused” leadership team. Despite its age and overcrowding, Leeds was generally clean. An “excellent” initiative involved a small group of staff and prisoners called ‘Q-branch’, who carried out maintenance tasks and had a “very…

Published: 22 March 2018

…e unsafe? Many of the reasons have been well documented. The prevalence of drugs inside prisons and the seeming inability to keep them out has been a major factor. Debt, bullying and self-segregation by prisoners looking to escape the violence generated by the drugs trade are commonplace. This has all been compounded by staffing levels in many jails that are simply too low to keep order and run a decent regime that allows prisoners to be let out o…

Published: 18 July 2017

…ained to respond in the event of an incident, were not being carried out.” Drugs. The ready availability of drugs in too many prisons sat behind much of the violence. A “shockingly high” number of prisoners acquired a drug habit while they were detained. Poor living conditions. Thousands of prisoners were forced to share cells designed to hold only one. In many cases they spent up to 22 hours a day locked in a small cell, where they ate all their…

Published: 11 July 2018

…as their footage reviewed. Portland also urgently needed to tackle illicit drugs. 64% of prisoners told inspectors it was easy to get drugs. Only one prison had returned a higher figure for this measure in the last year. One in five prisoners said they had developed a drug problem in the prison. It was clear that the ready availability of drugs was contributing to the levels of debt, bullying and violence. Inspectors were told that, following a sm…

Published: 20 September 2017

…e in this management team and fully expect to see real improvements. A new drugs strategy has been introduced at the prison to combine more cell searches with better addiction treatment, while a scanner to intercept illicit items in mail has been deployed. We are investing an extra £100m to boost security and safety across the estate to stop drugs, weapons and mobile phones getting in so we can protect staff, cut violence, and rehabilitate offende…

Published: 21 August 2019