Inmates get photocopies to stop drug-laced letters
not use drugs are also having letters lett confiscated.
“My son even had a drawing dra and ar twork his daughter had done withheld.” wit
In October, almost 100 letters lett laced with spice were intercepted inte at Addiewell.
That T same month, f ive trainee trai guards quit the jail amid al legations of cocaine use – and a female of f icer resigned in November after failing a drugs test.
Advocate Niall McCluskey, an expert in human rights, said: “The prison would need a reasonable suspicion that the letter was being used for some illegal purpose.
“I would be concerned if prisons were having a blanket confiscation of all mail. If this was the case then it could be a breach of the prisoners’ right to a family life.”
An Addiewell spokesman said: “Preventing drugs from entering the prison is a key priority for our staff. We have invested in technological solutions, alongside our robust searching procedures, to prevent illicit items from being introduced to the prison.”
HMP Addiewell, which was built under the controversial private finance initiative, has been run by Sodexo since 2006.
We revealed last year how prison governor Ian Whitehead resigned days after prisoners staged a protest at conditions caused by a staff shortage.
Last year, v iolent prisoner David Gilday took the Scottish Prison Service to court after his mail was confiscated when sniffer dogs detected drugs on a greetings card.
The Court of Session in Edinburgh threw out his claim, saying the prison had acted lawfully.