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Review of measures to disrupt the supply of illicit drugs to prisons

By John Hirst

Review of measures to disrupt the supply of illicit drugs to prisons

Jack Straw has made a statement on David Blakey's review into the effectiveness of the Prison Service's measures for disrupting the supply of drugs into prisons.

The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Jack Straw):

In the 'Prison Policy Update' document published in January this year I announced a major drive to overcome some of the principal barriers to the reform and rehabilitation of offenders. As part of that I asked the Director General of the then Prison Service to commission a review of the supply of illicit drugs into prisons. As a result, Mr David Blakey, a former Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Chief Constable of West Mercia, was commissioned to conduct a review into the effectiveness of HM Prison Service's measures for disrupting the supply of drugs into prisons, and to make recommendations for improvements. I am grateful to Mr Blakey for his considered and well-targeted report.

The report makes 10 recommendations, ranging from suggestions to roll out mobile phone blocking technology to fostering the good work we have been taking forward in intelligence. The Director General of the National Offender Management Service and I have accepted all of the recommendations and I have asked him to implement them as soon as practicable.

Disruption of supply is just one part of the NOMS Drug Strategy for prisons. The Strategy has three key elements:

* reducing demand, through targeted interventions for low, moderate and severe drug-misusers
* reducing supply, through security measures and drug testing programmes
* establishing effective through-care links to ensure continuity of treatment post-release in order to safeguard the gains made in custody.

NOMS has in place a comprehensive drug treatment framework, based on the National Treatment Agency's revised Models of Care, to address the different needs of drug misusers in prison. Treatment interventions include: clinical services (detoxification and/or maintenance prescribing); CARATs (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare services) - low-level interventions that, following assessment, deliver treatment and support; and drug rehabilitation programmes - which focus on addressing the attitudes and behaviour of drug misusers.

Copies of the Blakey Report and the full, detailed government response have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses, the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office.

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on July 07, 2008 (boomark / email).