We have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs in all our prisons.

We have an ambitious 10-year Drug Strategy, which sets out our cross-government plan to address illegal drug use. It is underpinned by a record level of additional investment, as part of which the Ministry of Justice is rolling out a range of interventions, including in prisons in Wales, to get offenders off drugs and into recovery. These include:

• Recruiting Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons, to coordinate a whole system approach to tackling drugs.
• Increasing the number of prisons with an Incentivised Substance-Free Living unit from 25 in summer 2022 to 80 now.

Alongside the physical deterrents, prisons in Wales have a drug and alcohol intervention service which aims to address the causes of drug and alcohol-related usage and reduce the risk of harm. This is achieved through various means including opiate replacement treatments, psychosocial groups, and counselling.

Following the most recent deaths, HMPPS in Wales has taken further steps, including:

• Issuing to prisoners leaflets and information from Public Health partners on the increased dangers of current strains of synthetic opioids.
• Further control measures on prisoners suspected of moving drugs within the prison.
• Reviewing recent overdoses that did not cause deaths, as well as trends in the issuing of Naloxone.

The Ministry of Justice works closely with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that all prisoners who need it have access to high-quality substance misuse treatment.

This includes:

• increasing the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units from 25 in summer 2022 to 80 now. Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units are prison wings providing a dedicated, supportive environment for prisoners who want to live drug-free in prison. They provide additional support to prisoners struggling with addiction to engage with treatment, using regular drug testing alongside incentives to ensure prisoners stay drug free;
• recruiting up to 50 Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons which will ensure prisons are recovery focused, bringing together health and security-focused activity. This builds on the £100 million already invested from our Security Investment Programme which aims to reduce crime in prisons and the conveyance of illicit substances;
• rolling out nasal naloxone to prison staff, which is the lifesaving medication to reverse an opiate overdose.

The latest information on random mandatory drug testing in prisons can be found in the HMPPS Annual Digest here: HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2022 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

All prisons have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, and we are highly aware of the threat synthetic substances present. In response, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) continue to develop capabilities to drug test prisoners who are suspected to have used, or are at risk of using, these dangerous substances. In addition, all prisons have been provided with access to forensic testing of items seized or found within the estate.

Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. Under this programme, all public sector sites have also been provided with next-generation drug trace detection machines. This technology enables prisons to detect attempts to convey drugs into prisons. The equipment is effective in identifying drugs that have been soaked onto letters, clothing and other items.

We are actively monitoring, and responding to, the continued threat posed by the growing levels of potent synthetic opioids in the United Kingdom. NHS England is working with the Department, the Ministry of Justice, and HM Prison and Probation Service to establish an effective early warning system in prisons to share information and intelligence on the prevalence of synthetic opioids.

NHS England is also establishing a Task and Finish group for their Clinical Reference Group (CRG), working to adapt the current framework for healthcare staff management of people suspected of having internally secreted drugs. The updated framework for healthcare staff will help enhance responses to suspected or potential drug poisonings, including those related to synthetic opioids. To enhance our first aid response in prisons, feedback is also being sought from the CRG in relation to the administration of naloxone under circumstances where a drug poisoning may be related to stronger synthetic opioids.

The Ministry of Justice works closely with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure that all prisoners who need it have access to high-quality alcohol and substance misuse treatment. As part of the government’s 10-year drug strategy, DHSC has made a record £532 million of additional investment through to 2024/25 to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services

The MoJ is also investing to tackle drug and alcohol misuse and engage more offenders in treatment, including recruiting Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons to coordinate a whole-system approach, and Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between prison and local drug and alcohol treatment services.

We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. We now have over 60 of these wings across the estate, and are aiming to reach up to 100 by March 2025. This will dramatically expand the number of prisoners who have access to these wings.

We are committed to tackling the supply of drugs and alcohol into prison. Our £100m Security Investment Programme completed in March 2022 and delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed male estate. We have also installed 84 X-ray baggage scanners at 49 sites, building on the rollout of our body scanners, drug trace detection machines and metal detection archways.

Between April 2018 and March 2023, there were 25,323 positive rMDT tests for both traditional drugs and psychoactive substances. Data for April to December 2023 will be published as part of the 2023-24 Annual Digest.

No new Official Statistics on rMDT positivity have been published since the year to March 2020, because since the start of the COVID pandemic testing levels and the number of prisons with sufficient testing have been too low to provide robust data.

The range of drugs tested in the rMDT panel is subject to change in response to new emerging drug types and new patterns of drug use. This is necessary to ensure our testing approach is targeting the right substances. These limitations mean no robust rate of positive tests can be calculated from the above data and this number of positive tests should not be compared to the number of tests.

Care is taken when processing and analysing returns, but the detail is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Although shown to the last case, the figures may not be accurate to that level.

This does not include tests that were spoilt or lost in transit on the way to the laboratory.

We are committed to identifying and tackling drug misuse in prisons, including through a range of drug testing approaches. In 2021, we undertook a small-scale proof of concept study at 13 prisons to understand wastewaters utility in detecting the presence or absence of illicit substances. Following successful detection in the pilot, we are continuing to test wastewater-based surveillance and its potential in assessing the prevalence of illicit substances in prisons. The evidence base around wastewater-based surveillance is continually developing and so we are working with leading academics and embedding quality assurance into our methods.

Prisons continue to have a zero-tolerance culture, and any prisoner suspected of taking illicit substances can still be subjected to a mandatory drug test. As part of the ambitious cross-Government Drug Strategy, we are rolling out a range of interventions to support prisoners off drugs and into recovery, such as doubling the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living wings and supporting prisoners to engage with community treatment pre-release.

We are also committed to tackling the supply of drugs into prison. Our £100m Security Investment Programme completed in March 2022 and delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed male estate. We have also installed 84 X-ray baggage scanners 49 sites, building on the rollout of our body scanners, drug trace detection machines and metal detection archways.

Random Mandatory Drug Testing is carried out across the prison estate to meet the annual target. The attached table details the prisons in which random mandatory drug tests were carried out in 2023.

Data for April to December 2023 is not included because it is subject to future publication as part of the 2023-24 Annual Digest.

The target number of rMDT each month is a random sample of 5% of prisoners in prisons with 400 or more prisoners and 10% of prisoners in prisons with fewer than 400 prisoners. These testing levels are set annually, based on the average monthly population in the previous year.

There were 17 drug-related deaths in custody in 2019 identified when matching HMPPS deaths data to the ONS deaths registration database, as can be found in this publication: Drug-related deaths and suicide in prison custody in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk).

The data used in this publication was for deaths from 2008 to 2019, and the information is not held in the form in which it has been requested from 2020 onwards. To identify drug-related deaths from 2020 onwards is not possible within the cost limit. This is due to the methodology needed to be consistent with the publication above. Linking each HMPPS death to the ONS deaths registration database to identify those which were drug-related is a complex task that would exceed the cost limit. As mentioned in the Guide to Safety in Custody Statistics – “Although HMPPS monitors drug related deaths, it does not use this category in published statistics because they are difficult to measure accurately. In addition, the category can blur the boundary with self-inflicted deaths.”

Therefore, we are unable to provide the number of drug-related deaths from 2020 onwards.

Please note, deaths in custody for 2023 are currently only published up to September. Deaths in custody for the rest of 2023 will be published on 25 January 2024 within Safety in Custody.

Random Mandatory Drug Testing is carried out across the prison estate to meet the annual target. The attached table details the prisons in which random mandatory drug tests were carried out in 2023.

Data for April to December 2023 is not included because it is subject to future publication as part of the 2023-24 Annual Digest.

The target number of rMDT each month is a random sample of 5% of prisoners in prisons with 400 or more prisoners and 10% of prisoners in prisons with fewer than 400 prisoners. These testing levels are set annually, based on the average monthly population in the previous year.

The number of incidents where drugs are found in prisons in England and Wales is published in the HMPPS Annual Digest through the incidents data tool.

a) Between April 2013 and March 2018, there were 44,206 drug find incidents in prisons in England and Wales.

b) Between April 2018 and March 2023, there were 92,619 drug find incidents in prisons in England and Wales.

Data for April to December 2023 is not included because it is subject to future publication as part of the 2023-24 Annual Digest.

It is important to consider with incidents of drug finds in prisons, that an increase in numbers may be as a result of more items being found, rather than more items being present in prisons. Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. As of October 2023, we have recorded 46,925 positive indications, helping to tackle the supply of drugs and other contraband into prisons.

Our £100m Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. As of October 2023, we have recorded 46,925 positive indications, helping to tackle the supply of drugs and other contraband into prisons.

The vast majority of prison staff are hardworking and dedicated. A minority of staff engage in corrupt activity.

HM Prison & Probation Service has a zero-tolerance policy to drugs conveyed into prisons and take appropriate action to a small number of prison staff who break the rules. Our £100m Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs and mobile phones, is ongoing. This includes increased resource to pursue corruption, as well as established a new ‘Prevent’ function, aimed at building staff resilience against corruption.

Below is a table showing the breakdown of staff investigated from July 23 to Dec 2023 relating to the conveyance of drugs.

Table 1

Below is a table showing the breakdown of staff arrested from 2019 to Dec 2023 to date relating to the conveyance of drugs.

Table 2

Below is a table showing the breakdown of staff charged from 2019 to Dec 2023 to date relating to the conveyance of drugs.

Table 3

Source: Linkspace Case Management System.

Notes:

Linkspace is the Counter Corruption Unit’s (CCU) Case Management System used to record and track cases linked to corruption.

Data provided by the Counter Corruption (CCU) have the following Caveats applied below;

1) The new Counter Corruption Unit came into being in April 2019, with a new structure and a change to ways of working. During the initial transition period, and prior to the introduction of the new Case Management System, it is possible that not all arrests were being captured.

2) Prior to April 2019, corruption in HMPPS was managed by the Corruption Prevention Unit

(CPU). The CPU was a largely centralised unit focused on sanitising and disseminating all

corruption related intelligence to the Police, with an individual Regional Corruption

Prevention Manager (RCPM) in each geographical region offering advice and support to

prisons in managing corruption, Hence data prior to April 2019 is not available.

3) Data includes Non-Directly Employed Staff (public or private) as they provide a service on behalf of HMPPS.

4) Officers ‘charged*’ is not an assured metric, the data below is likely very underrepresented given it is substantially lower than our CJS outcomes i.e., CJS sentences, court fines, conditional discharges etc over this period.

5) The Investigations data is all operations opened on linkspace that relate to conveyance of drugs, for officers and non-officers. Some investigations are based off limited intelligence and many are unproven.

Data relating to random mandatory drug tests is published online in the HMPPS Annual Digest. The table below provides the total number of tests in each year between 2019 and 2023 inclusive.

From March 2020 to April 2021 rMDT target levels were suspended due to the Covid-19 restrictions placed upon prison regimes. The increase in testing levels during March 2022 to March 2023 is associated with the re-introduction of the target levels and changes in regime following the pandemic.

Please see below the links to the annual digests from each year:

2018/2019: HMPPS Annual Digest 2018 to 2019 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

2019/2020: HMPPS Annual Digest: April 2019 to March 2020 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

2020/2021: HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2020 to March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

2021/2022: HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2021 to March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

2022/2023: HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2022 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Data for April to December 2023 is not included because it is subject to future publication as part of the 2023-24 Annual Digest.

Data is collected on mandatory drug testing, including Random Mandatory Drug Testing (rMDT), targeted testing, and voluntary drug testing of prisoners. rMDT data is published in the HMPPS Annual Digest.

All random mandatory drug testing (rMDT) was paused in March 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Low levels of testing resumed from September 2020 in line with establishments’ position within the National Framework for managing COVID-19 before formal performance expectations around rMDT volumes were re-instated in April 2022.