Inmates are caught using their mobiles illegally 2,250 times

PRISONERS were disciplined more than 2,000 times last year for tampering with mobile phones handed to them under a £2.7million scheme.

More than 10,300 supposedly tamper-proof handsets were given out to help inmates stay in touch with family while visiting was restricted in the pandemic.

But figures reveal there were 2,255 cases of prisoners facing action for unauthorised use of the phones in 2020-21 – an average of more than six a day.

Critics say the phones were used for drug deals, fuelling drug misuse and overdoses.

Last night, Scottish Tory community safety spokesman Russell Findlay said: ‘From the moment the SNP handed out phones to prisoners… it turned into a disaster.

‘Prison staff discovered these supposedly tamper-proof mobiles were hacked within hours of their introduction.

‘We know they are being used by organised criminals to fuel the rampant prison drugs trade which is costing lives and putting immense strain on the NHS.’

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said there were 2,255 breaches of prison rules relating to the ‘use of authorised mobile phones in a prison setting’.

Sanctions for tampering vary from case to case but can include confiscation of handsets or withdrawal of privileges such as canteen visits.

At Holyrood earlier this month, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross called on the Scottish Government to take back the phones after reports that nine inmates had died from drugs overdoses at Shotts prison, Lanarkshire, this year. Mr Ross said prisoners were able to access drugs due to ‘unhackable phones’ being hacked, enabling them to organise drug deals.

Addressing First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, he said: ‘This is an obvious abuse. Will she commit to removing them from Scotland’s prisons?’

Miss Sturgeon accepted there was evidence some handsets ‘had been tampered with’ but said that had been detected as a result of ‘robust monitoring’.

She did not commit to taking phones away from prisoners, however, telling Mr Ross it is ‘important to remember the context of this’.

She said phones had been handed out because prisoners could not have in-person contact with their families in the early days of the pandemic.

Miss Sturgeon said access to phones was seen as vital in addressing the ‘negative impact’ this had on prisoners and their children, as well as prison staff.

Earlier this year, John McTavish, a prison officer at Barlinnie, in Glasgow, told ITV News: ‘You give a prisoner a phone, and they’re very, very ingenious.

‘If they put their mind to something, they can do anything. Within hours, the tamperproof was gone.’

An SPS spokesman said most ‘contraband’ was introduced to jails through use of illicit mobile phones and insisted there was ‘no conclusive evidence’ that authorised phones were being used for illegal purposes.

He added: ‘The scheme has been successful in terms of keeping prisoners in touch with their families and we will take action against anyone found breaking the rules.’

‘Turned into a disaster’