DROPPING LIKE FLIES
are unknown. Of those questioned, 82 per cent reported using synthetic cannabinoids, like Spice.
Prison Officers Association Scotland chairman Phil Fairlie said the problem was nowhere near as severe as in English prisons.
He said: “Down south is a much bigger problem. Our concern is it is coming our way but it is not here yet on the same scale.
“There are not enormous numbers yet but our worry is that it has the potential to become a much bigger problem.” He said a lack of knowledge by scientists and prison experts was hampering the development of an effective stategy to deal with NPS use.
He added: “The products on the market are extremely difficult for us to get a proper handle on.”
Mr Fairlie claims the biggest difficulty for staff is in tackling prisoners in a “zombie” state. He said: “If it was just violence we would have better means of control but it is not that, it’s people who get lost in an almost zombie-like state and have no clue where they are. The risk to themselves is enormous.
“Their body temperature goes up, their heart rate is racing and they become medical emergencies more than anything else. Prison officers are not trained to manage that.”
He said it was time to consider developing protective clothing and aids such as masks for staff. But he added: “The difficulty is, it is not something you can plan for. It can happen at any moment.”
Mr Fairlie said the SPOA are working with the NHS, police and the SPS to share information and develop ways of handling NPS use.
He added: “We are not seeing the same reaction time and again in different people. It is very different reactions on a day-to-day basis. There is no obvious pattern. We need to expect the unexpected.”
Last week, Scotland’s chief inspector of prisons David Strang warned of the “growing concern” of NPS in a report on HMP Shotts, Scotland’s only prison exclusively for those serving long sentences.
PHIL FAIRLIE