Pubdate: Mon, 07 Jul 2008
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2008 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Contact:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: Sara Gaines, and agencies
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

JAIL DRUGS CRACKDOWN TARGETS PRISON OFFICERS

Prison officers are to undergo body scans as part of an UKP80m 
crackdown on illegal drug use in prisons, the government said today.

The justice secretary, Jack Straw, said the new body scanners would 
be introduced at every jail in England and Wales by next March, to 
stop "treacherous" staff betraying their colleagues.

Mobile phone blockers are also planned for every jail to stop 
smuggling by officers, inmates and visitors.

Straw attacked corrupt staff after a new report highlighted the role 
played by them in smuggling heroin and other illegal drugs.

"It is a betrayal of society and it is also treacherous to colleagues 
because with corruption and the smuggling of drugs by prison officers 
goes major problems of disorder," Straw said.

"It is intolerable and we are going to do everything we can to catch 
you and ensure you get a very long jail sentence."

Today's report, by former policeman David Blakey, also revealed some 
prisoners get hold of drugs by abusing a system designed to allow 
confidential communication with their lawyers.

Blakey said talks with the Law Society, which represents solicitors, 
should consider a registration scheme in a bid to foil the smugglers.

He also proposed a ban on visitors handing property such as clothes 
to inmates because illegal drugs can be stitched into garments.

And he said prison bank accounts should be more closely monitored, as 
they may be being used to operate drug dealing behind bars.

"These accounts should be a major source of intelligence and they are 
not. I am not entirely satisfied that the service is keeping 
sufficient track of money that is being held for prisoners within 
prisons and outside," he said.

His four-month review found "substantial amounts" of drugs are 
smuggled into prisons or thrown over prison walls.

"Inevitably some clever and manipulative prisoners attempt to 
cultivate and compromise prison officers," he said.

"Some officers engage in inappropriate relationships with prisoners 
and some prisoners offer to pay to staff large amounts of money ... for drugs."

Most staff had great integrity but were let down by a minority of 
corrupt colleagues, he said.

The planned network of scanning chairs and greater use of normal 
searches should be applied to staff more frequently on a random 
basis, he added.

Mobile phone blockers will be introduced, at an estimated cost of 
UKP50m. More than 600 mobile handsets and SIM cards are seized in 
prisons in England and Wales every month, the report said.

Blakey also suggested prisoners should wear a one-piece boiler suit 
with no pockets during visits, or a close fitting shirt and jeans, 
rather than a tracksuit, in a bid to reduce smuggling.

A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers in June warned trying to make 
every prison in England and Wales drug-free would be too expensive. 
Over half the record 83,000 jail population misuse drugs, the report said.

Blakey agreed eradicating illegal drugs from jails would require an 
impractical level of searches and closed visits for every inmate.
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