Inspectors call for jail to tackle smuggling problem

A YORKSHIRE jail has been told to step up efforts to stop suspected drug-smuggling by inmates.

A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons found there was “some evidence” that prisoners who return on licence after having been released were trafficking drugs into HMP Hull, yet there was “no clear strategy for identifying them, assessing the risks or taking action”.

The watchdog recommends that the risk of trafficking should be assessed and procedures introduced to mitigate it.

Offenders serving the remainder of their sentence in the community can be recalled to prison if they breach the terms of their release and in a speech earlier this year, Justice Secretary David Gauke warned that gangs were engineering situations whereby prisoners deliberately breach their licence conditions so they are sent back inside to smuggle in more drugs.

The inspection report on HMP Hull said risks to the jail included the availability of drugs and mobile phones, and associated violence. Likely routes into the prison had been identified and steps taken had led to “regular finds”, the report adds.

Inspectors visited the jail in March and April and said a new search team had enabled swift action to be taken, while electronic drug testing equipment had also been introduced.

The report also notes that five prisoners took their own lives since the prison’s last inspection in 2014, and levels of self-harm had risen “drastically”.

Two-thirds of prisoners shared cramped cells, there was a backlog of repairs and many facilities were in poor condition. However, the report concludes that the prison was working well compared with most other local jails.

Michael Spurr, chief executive of HM Prison & Probation Service, said staff at HMP Hull deserve “considerable credit” for the progress they had made.