'Thriving drugs market' at prison due to drones

A prison has been urged to tackle drones delivering drugs after a large number of inmates tested positive for illegal substances.

A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons said Highpoint, near Haverhill, Suffolk, was "generally well run" but faced "serious challenges" around drugs, violence, and education.

The category C men's prison, which has about 1,100 inmates, will become the largest public-sector jail in the country when new accommodation opens in the next two years.

A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesperson said £75m was being invested to strengthen security across the whole prison estate.

"There was a thriving drugs market within the prison, with random drug tests showing a 28% positive rate," the inspectorate's report said.

Inspectors said prison leaders had not had "a comprehensive drug reduction strategy" and the prison service had failed to protect the "large, open site" from drones.

Prisoners had cut holes in the grilles to fish for "often large packages" being dropped off, and inspectors frequently smelled cannabis around the prison.

The chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, said the "experienced governor had been an effective leader" who ensured "very clean and well-maintained cells and communal areas".

Following the inspection in June, concerns were also raised about an increase in violence, as the rate of serious assaults had risen by 43%.

It comes after 28-year-old inmate Krishan Rawal died following an attack at HMP Highpoint in January.

Highpoint was again rated "poor" for providing meaningful work or purposeful activity.

"Workshops and classrooms were often closed because of shortages of teachers or instructors.

"Having too many prisoners with not enough to do was likely to be a cause of the widespread drug taking," the report said.

Inspectors noted that a serious fire in April had resulted in one block being closed, which "disrupted" some prisoners' progression to a more open regime.

"Credit must, however, go to the offender management unit who were working very long hours to complete sentence recalculations ready for early releases," the report added.

The leaders were also praised for staff development and engagement, a supportive approach to new prisoners, and an "innovative" dental service.

Taylor said: "With the impending growth in the population, the prison service must do more to reduce Highpoint's vulnerability to drones and the leaders at the jail will need to develop a drugs strategy that reduces both supply and demand.

"Much of this will be achieved by providing sufficient, high-quality purposeful activity."

The MoJ spokeperson said: "This government is bearing down on the scourge of drugs in prisons by investing £75m to strengthen prison security.

"Last week the Lord Chancellor announced further action to bring cutting-edge tech into our jails, with companies invited to develop new ways to stop drones."

The government "recognised the strong leadership" at HMP Highpoint and outlined steps being taken or introduced at the jail:

• a plan to improve intelligence gathering, targeted searching, and security measures to reduce supply routes... improve staff training to identify and manage prisoners under the influence and support recovery-focused interventions
• targeted interventions to reduce violence, agreed through local violence reduction arrangements, with boosted supervision of high-risk individuals
• daily monitoring to support offenders to attend activities, and raising further awareness of the benefits of attendance and non-attendance
• recruitment of three new members of staff to help inform our plan for education delivery next year
• more opportunities for prisoners to discuss their progression including drop-in sessions and forums

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