Inmates in second riot at prison rife with zombie drug
RIOTERS took over a prison twice in two days amid an epidemic of ‘zombie drug’ spice.
About 100 inmates seized two wings of the jail that has failed to tackle a ‘massive influx’ of the synthetic cannabis.
Anti-riot warders were sent into HMP The Mount, in Hertfordshire, on Monday after prisoners took control of H and L wings, the pharmacy, gym and a security equipment store.
The ‘Tornado’ teams then had to redeploy yesterday when trouble broke out in another wing, with about 50 inmates smashing windows.
Prisoners at the 1,000-capacity jail, built on a former RAF base in Bovingdon, were said to have been on extended lockdown and a restricted regime in recent weeks because of staff shortages, which meant food was delivered cold to their cells.
In a report released on the day that inmates rioted, a prison watchdog warned of the rise of spice at the jail – including one type called ‘Death’.
The Mount’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) found ‘all the ingredients were in place for [the prison] to suffer disorder such as has been experienced in other prisons – staff shortages, readily available drugs, mounting violence’. The report said the spice problem had been worst in November, when 70 convicts who inhaled the drug had to be seen by medics after collapsing or ‘turning into zombies’.
Spice was a ‘big concern’ and, while deliveries into the prison by drone had declined, ‘the supply is still getting in’, the IMB added.
It said: ‘The amount of drugs at The Mount increased significantly during the course of the year. In particular, there was a big increase in spice.
‘During the course of the year, violence towards staff and prisoner fights and assaults grew considerably. This coincided with large amounts of spice being available at The Mount.’
Spice – as addictive as crack cocaine – is said to be as potent as smoking up to 100 cannabis joints. Addicts can suffer severe psychotic episodes, hallucinations and even seizures.
The report said the jail, run by the Prison Service, had struggled with staff shortages ‘driven by uncompetitive pay scales’. Prisons expert Alex Cavendish said prisoners had been subjected to squalid conditions as the jail was short-staffed.
He said: ‘ Some of these prisoners may not have been able to take a shower for three weeks. You can imagine that, two men, sitting in a cell with hot weather like we’ve been having, without the opportunity to do those things, it’s going to be pretty unpleasant.’
A text message purportedly sent by an inmate claimed: ‘We had the screws running scared.’
Monday’s incident was resolved shortly after 10pm and the Prison Service confirmed no staff or inmates had been injured. Yesterday’s disturbance lasted about four hours. The Ministry of Justice said: ‘Specially trained prison staff were deployed to HMP The Mount to resolve an incident involving a number of prisoners.’
A small number of inmates were involved in another disturbance at HMP Erlestoke, Wiltshire, yesterday, the Prison Service said.
‘We had the screws running scared’