Prison bosses who fail to tackle drug abuse face axe

PRISON chiefs will be replaced if they fail to tackle drug abuse and violence behind bars, under a Bill published today.

Liz Truss will finally hold governors to account in what has been dubbed the biggest shake-up of jails in a generation.

In sweeping reforms, the Justice Secretary will give prison governors in England and Wales freedom from state control over budgets for education, employment and health.

However, those that fail to get prisoners off drugs, boost their English and maths skills and make them fit for employment will face the axe.

Prisoners will be given the skills needed to turn their lives around, driving down the £15billion a year cost of reoffending, and every prison will be ranked in a league table for the first time.

The wide-ranging Prisons and Courts Bill will bring together reforms announced in recent months as jails were hit by record levels of violence and suicides, riots and spiralling drug use.

The Bill will introduce new powers to tackle the scourge of mobile phones sneaked into prisons by jamming them to stamp out their use to organise crime, and terrorise victims.

As well as this, violent husbands will be banned from interrogating their exwives in court after a string of cases in which abusers were given free rein to torment victims.

And those charged with less serious criminal offences will be able to plead guilty online to save court time.

Miss Truss said: ‘I want our prisons to be places of discipline, hard work and self-improvement, where staff are empowered to get people off drugs, improve their English and maths get a job on release.’