New jail to be part of PM’s drugs crackdown
AIRPORT-STYLE SECURITY AND SNIFFER DOGS AT HMP GLEN PARVA
NEW government plans to clamp down on drug use in jails include airportstyle security in all new prisons, including Leicestershire’s, with every inmate to be assessed for addiction on their arrival.
The plans would include the new prison in Glen Parva, HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, a new prison next to HMP Full Sutton, in Yorkshire, and three locations still to be confirmed.
The Prisons Strategy White Paper, unveiled in full in the House of Commons this week, includes body scanners, biometric identification and drug dogs in the list of measures proposed.
The aim is to stem the flow of dangerous substances that “wreak havoc” in prisons and “scupper the work of frontline staff” in reforming offenders, the Ministry of Justice said.
The new strategy proposes that all new prisons should have airport-style security as standard, with X-ray body scanners and biometric identification for visitors and drug dogs and handheld wands at prison gates.
The scanners can also be used on search staff, for those “susceptible to corruption”, the MoJ said, to stop officers being blackmailed into smuggling illegal goods behind bars.
Prison governors will be held to account for keeping drugs out of their jails and getting inmates clean, as well as meeting individual targets.
The MoJ said prisons would be held accountable for the first time on drug rehabilitation.
There would also be a range of treatments, such as abstinence therapy, to help wean inmates off addictive drugs.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “This government is delivering tougher sentences and 20,000 more prison places to keep the most dangerous criminals off our streets for longer, but prisons also need to play their part in cutting crime and preventing future victims.
“That is why with a zero tolerance approach to drugs and more autonomy for governors to maintain good order, our reforms will clamp down on the causes of reoffending and make sure prison pays.”
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said: “We are building extra prison places so that serious offenders will be incarcerated for longer.
“Our plan will improve the security of our jails to help cut off the flow of drugs, knives and mobile phones, and allow effective rehabilitation to take place.
“And the regime in prison will be reoriented to end addiction and build up skills, and access to work – so offenders go straight into work on release.
“This is how we will cut crime and keep the public safe.”
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