Drugs now ‘a bigger part of prison life than ever before’

Crisis as seizures of illicit substances near record totals

- ANDY GREGORY

The drugs crisis in prisons is the worst it has ever been, experts have warned, with the prevalence of illicit substances rendering jails “almost impossible to run positively”.

Criminality is rampaging unchecked in prisons, ministers have been warned (Photos Getty) Ministers have been warned that an unacceptable level of criminality is rampaging unchecked in many prisons, as the most recent data shows annual drug seizures by prison officers returning to record highs of more than 21,000.

New analysis by The Independent highlights how the ongoing crisis first exploded during the austerity years, as the prison service was hollowed out by cuts and staff layoffs.

The warning comes as staffing levels remain on the brink at some prisons and as the government prepares for the largest overhaul of the system in decades to ease overcrowding and refocus the justice system towards rehabilitating offenders.

“We generally feel there is a bigger and more diverse and profitable drug market in prisons than there’s ever been,” said Mike Trace, chief executive of the Forward Trust, a charity delivering drug treatment in 20 prisons. “Obviously we can’t itemise that in terms of GDP figures, but the feeling for most professionals on the wings is this is a bigger part of prison life than it’s ever been before.”

Warning that this “makes prisons almost impossible to run positively”, Mr Trace - who previously served as a government drugs tsar under Tony Blair - also expressed concern that an influx of new synthetic drugs are posing a risk to safety, with fatally potent synthetic opioids feared to be “in the mix”.

Mr Trace told The Independent: “A lot of the market in prisons now is liquids and powders that people receiving and taking them are not really sure what’s in them. That means the risk of overdose or adverse reaction is heightened because people aren't in a good position to manage dose and potency.”