Drugs

1. Drugs • In the 2008 Prison Survey 69% reported use of heroin in the previous month, 66% reported use of cannabis and 45% use illegally prescribed drugs. • Cannabis was detected in 44% of prisoners at reception. This highlights how severe the drug problems are in Scotland’s prisons. • 1,354 prisoners across Scotland were being prescribed methadone according to a census taken on the 14th December 2007. • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8259459.stm. • http://politicsforpeople.org/business/research/pdf_res_brief/sb02-42.pdf

2. Mental Health • Many prisoners have mental health problems. 72% of male and 70% of female sentenced prisoners suffer from two or more mental health disorders. One in five prisoners have four of the five major mental health disorders. • Revised figures, collected by the Prison Service in 2005 show that 597 out of every 1,000 women and 50 out of every 1,000 men harm themselves while in prison. • According to the Prison Reform Trust, Prison regimes do little to address the mental health needs of prisoners. Research has found that 28% of male sentenced prisoners with evidence of psychosis reported spending 23 or more hours a day in their cells. This is twice the time that other prisoners spend in their cells. Is this an effective way of addressing the mental health needs of prisoners. • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7731240.stm • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/120856.stm

3. EDUCATION They support, encourage, motivate and positively challenge their charges. They support, encourage, motivate and positively challenge prisoners Unlike the majority of prison staff, prison teachers look for the potential for good in the people they teach. Unlike the majority of prison staff, prison teachers look for the potential for good in the people they teach. The prisoner is seen as a student, a learner and an individual with specific needs first – and an offender second. The prisoner population generally looks upon teachers as enablers, motivators and life enhancers Education contributes to reducing recidivism. Find employment when they are released. • Research has shown that prisoners who gain employment after release are much less likely to re-offend In 2004/2005 it costed around £122 million to fund

4. Health Issues in Prison • Health services in prison are commissioned by the local NHS. • The prison health services are provided by a team managed by a healthcare manager. • If a prisoner feels down or unwell, then they need to fill in an application form and give it to a nurse. • Healthcare teams are concerned about both physical and mental health. They can deal with most health problems. • If a health problem cannot be dealt with fully in the prison then a prisoner may be moved to another prison where other facilities may be available. • They may need to be taken to an outside NHS hospital. If this happens then they will remain in custody of the prison service. • The healthcare in prisons is often criticised. A recent report, based on in-depth inspections of 18 prisons throughout the UK, found that 13 of them did not have systems in place to divert those with severe mental health problems to secure health units.

5. Overcrowding Overcrowding is a major problem in prisons. As a result of the overcrowding around 350 prisoners have been released from jail and placed under home detention curfew. Overcrowding means that over 12,000 prisoners in Britain are being held two to a cell designed for one. Many of these cells have unscreened toilets which fail to provide even the most basic of human needs. The Scottish prison population has risen by a fifth since 2001 to around 8000 - the highest-ever. Scotland’s new prisons inspector fears that a lack of resources and overcrowding are preventing violent and sexual offenders from receiving help to change their behaviour.

6. In late 2008 he [Mike Ewart, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service] said the system was in crisis after it emerged that Scottish prisons held a record 8,137 inmates. • As a result of the overcrowding around 350 prisoners have been released from jail and placed under home detention curfew. • In a desperate attempt to find empty beds, prisoners are being transported all over the country.  In 2001, 37,000 prisoners were being held over 50 miles away from home, for 5,000 of these the distance was more than 150 miles.  This cost the taxpayer millions of pounds in transportation costs and in delays to the criminal justice system as a result of late arrivals for court appearances.  It also jeopardises family relationships and the chances of successful re-integration back into the community on release; tow of the most important factors in reducing re-offending. • The huge prison population is undermining any good work the prison service is trying to do in terms of making the prison experience constructive for the majority prisoners.  In 2001-2 the prison service failed to meet its own target of providing prisoners with at least 24 hours of purposeful activity for week.  Only 3 out of 40 of the male local prisons (those holding predominantly remand and short sentence prisoners) which suffer the worst overcrowding, managed to meet this target.

7. Violence • Solutions • Better facilities • Restraining violent prisoners • More staff provided • More effective rehabilitation • Good relationship between prisoner and prison officer • Causes • Lack of leisure time • Overcrowding • Prisoner background • Shortage of staff • Drugs Examples Addiewell riot on the 25th of January 2010 caused 2 prisoner officers to be injured. Murder of Michael Cameron in Kilmarnock in June 2006 by another prisoner. Between January and May 2009 there was an average of 2 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults per week at Addiewell. There was also 20 assaults on staff in Cornton Vale. In 2008 there were 84 prisoner-on-prisoner attacks at Saughton prison. In 2005 there were 262 assaults at Polmont Young Offenders Institute, which made up a third of total prison assaults in that year. Despite having only 9% of the total prison population, Polmont’s inmates were responsible for one in six offences in Scottish jails in 2003

8. VIOLENCE • One third of young offenders and 1/5 of adults have experienced assault in the last month (p706 Criminology textbook) • Violence in jails has risen by a third in five years (Howard League) • Director of Howard League blames overcrowding and imprisonment of mentally ill people causes violence. (Howard League) • Between 2004 and 2008 prisoner on prisoner assault rose by 36% with a total of 56,517 incidents. (BBC news article May 2009) • Inspectors at Pankhurst jail said 75% of vulnerable inmates felt unsafe (BBC article May 2009) • Hierarchy within prisons. Those convicted of abusing children or women are more likely to be attacked. • “Football and chips” stop riots and keep lid on the violence in prisons. • Ashwell prison riot in April 2009. 75% of the prison was damaged and overcrowding was blamed for the riot. The riot started after several prisoners lost their special privileges for example, better pay for work or access to sports facilities (Telegraph April 2009) • Prison officer got 16 snitches when head butted by prisoners at Dartmoor Prison (prisonofficers.org.uk) • Leigh from the Prison Officers Association in Liverpool said the staff iin HMP Liverpool are in fear for their health and safety because of the “unsafe manning levels”.