Pubdate: Mon, 28 Jun 2004
Source: Independent  (UK)
Copyright: 2004 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.independent.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209
Author: Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/prison.htm (Incarceration)

PRISON OFFICERS IGNORE DRUG ABUSERS IN 'DIRTIEST' JAIL

Prison officers turned a blind eye to drug dealing and abuse in an 
overcrowded jail plagued by addiction among inmates, a report shows. It 
calls for urgent action by ministers to tackle chronic problems at The 
Mount, where soaring numbers of inmates use illegal substances and staff 
are struggling to cope with disruptive, mentally ill prisoners.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) warns that levels of drug use at the 
jail near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, are "appalling", and increasing, 
with up to 23 per cent of tests for drugs proving positive, almost three 
times the prison service target.

It says: "Staffing levels have not been adequate to enable rigorous 
drug-testing of prisoners. Further, the staffing shortages seem to have 
occasioned a tolerance of the levels of supply and use in the prison."

In its annual report on The Mount, the IMB said the jail should set up a 
detoxification programme and improve searches of visitors and vehicles. 
"There have been concerns through the year that the drug strategy is not 
working," it warns. "It is unrealistic to call any wing drug-free."

The Mount, built on the site of a former Royal Air Force station, holds 760 
inmates, some 55 above its recommended population, and including 28 lifers. 
"There is continued overcrowding at The Mount, as in the rest of the 
system," the IMB said. "This results in an increasing number of prisoners 
who are volatile, require large amounts of staff time, or are mentally ill, 
being allocated to the prison. These prisoners are unsuitable for the 
regime at the Mount, its staff profile or the level of medical cover 
available. Their presence continues to drain depleted staff resources."

The IMB says it was the dirtiest prison any of its member had visited in 
the past year and its regime was "generally poor". It adds: "Less than four 
hours a day purposeful activity, reductions in time out of cell, slipping 
lunch-times, together with the scruffy appearance of parts of the 
establishment give cause for concern."

The report acknowledges that many of the problems can be traced to the 
difficulties in recruiting and retaining officers in an area with high 
house prices and low unemployment. But it adds: "Staff shortages have 
become a permanent feature of life at The Mount and an excuse for every 
problem. The board finds this unacceptable."

A Prison Service spokesman said there had been success in fighting drug 
trafficking. But he added: "The establishment has been consistently 15 to 
18 discipline officers short of its full complement, which affects its 
ability to deliver aspects of the regime, including regular mandatory testing."
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