All new prisons to have ‘airport-style security’ to clamp down on drugs

Body scanners, biometric identification and drug dogs among raft of measures proposed to stem flow of illegal substances in jails.
New-build prisons will have airport-style security as standard under Government plans to cut down on drugs behind bars (Stephen Kelly Wire/PA)
PA Archive
Amy Gibbons7 December 2021

All new prisons will be installed with “airport-style security” and every inmate will be assessed for addiction on arrival under plans to clamp down on drugs behind bars.

Body scanners, biometric identification and drug dogs are among a raft of measures proposed 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 (MoJ) said.

The Government has outlined the plans in its Prisons Strategy White Paper, which will be unveiled in full in the House of Commons today.

It is proposing that all new prisons should have “airport-style security” as standard, including X-ray body scanners, biometric identification for visitors, and drug dogs and hand-held wands at prison gates.

The scanners could also be used to search staff who might be “susceptible to corruption”, the MoJ said, to prevent them from being blackmailed into smuggling illegal goods behind bars.

Meanwhile, the Government wants every prisoner to be assessed for drug and alcohol addiction on arrival in custody.

And it is planning to set “new stringent targets” holding prison governors to account on keeping drugs out of their jails and getting inmates clean.

As well as receiving individual targets on drug testing, prisons will be accountable for the first time on drug rehabilitation, the MoJ said.

It said the results – covering prisons’ success in getting offenders off drugs and alcohol and into education or employment on release – would be published in national league tables.

It added that a range of treatments, including abstinence therapy, would help to reduce “over-reliance on opiate substitutes like methadone”.

The Government wants all new prisons to have ‘airport style’ security as standard, including cutting-edge body scanners (Jon Super/PA)
PA Archive

Body scanners are already installed at every closed male prison, the MoJ said.

The proposals outlined in the new White Paper would extend the use of this equipment, as well as other “airport-style” measures such as biometric identification and drug dogs, to all new prisons across the country.

This would include HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, opening in early 2022, the new prison in Glen Parva in Leicestershire, the new prison next to HMP Full Sutton in Yorkshire, and three locations to be confirmed.

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.”

Our reforms will clamp down on the causes of reoffending and make sure prison pays.

Boris Johnson

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 re-oriented 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 the crime and keep the public safe.”

But Steve Reed, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary, claimed Mr Johnson’s Government could not be trusted to “clean up the mess” in the prison system.

“It’s no wonder that drug use among prisoners has soared in the last decade because the Conservatives have mismanaged our prisons, leading them to become awash with drugs, violence and disorder,” he said.

“Conservative incompetence, cuts to the whole justice system and a lack of oversight of contracted companies has left prisons understaffed, dangerous and overcrowded universities of crime where drug addiction is rife and re-offending is commonplace.

“Boris Johnson and the Conservatives cannot be trusted to clean up the mess they’ve made in prisons because they are soft on crime – and with their chaotic court case backlog, violent offenders will be allowed to continue to roam Britain’s streets for longer.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in