15% of inmates at city prison failed drugs tests

MORE than 15% of prisoners at HMP Cardiff have failed drugs tests, it has been revealed.

The statistics, released yesterday in the UK Government’s Prisons Annual Performance Ratings 2016 to 2017, reveal the scale of the problem in Welsh prisons, with high figures also reported in both HMP Parc in Bridgend and HMP Swansea.

They found HMP Cardiff had a drugs test failure rate of 15.2%, while Parc scored 11.5%. Swansea’s was 19.1% with Usk/Prescoed at 2.8%.

Rob Preece, campaigns and communications manager at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said drugs were a “huge issue” Cardiff’s jail.

He said: “Where there is drug abuse there is also debt and violence and these problems have become more severe as prisons have become increasingly overstretched.

“Earlier this week we learned of a jail where one in seven prisoners had developed a drug habit during their time there and stories such as this are becoming increasingly common.

“Where there is demand there will always be people attempting to supply. The key to solving the problem is reducing that demand. The most sensible approach is to ensure that prisons are properly resourced and giving prisoners purposeful activity such as work, education, training and exercise.”

The figures were obtained from officers at prisons testing at least 5% of inmates to get good-quality results, and Mr Preece added: “Bold but sensible action is needed to reduce the prison population and prevent more people being swept away into deeper currents of crime and despair.”

It was also announced in December “bold action” was needed after a report found it was easy to find drugs but hard to find clean clothes or bedding at Cardiff prison.

The Howard League for Penal Reform spoke out after it was found HMP Cardiff was understaffed and overcrowded.

Designed to accommodate 539 men, the report said it was actually holding 770 at the time of the inspection and that a “significant number” of men had been transferred into the prison from English jails.

It also found staff shortages and the increased availability and use of new psychoactive substances had led to a rise in “unpredictable and violent behaviour”.

Topping the list of the UK’s prisons for drug use were Bristol, Liverpool and Brixton.

The Ministry of Justice was contacted for comment.