LISTEN: "Effective strategy" needed to tackle drugs in two NI prisons

by Q Radio News

A report from the Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland has found as "effective strategy" must be implemented to reduce the supply of drugs at two of the region's prisons. 

It follows two unannounced inspections of both Hydebank Wood Secure College and Ash House women's prison,

They were carried out by a multi-disciplinary team of inspectors from Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJI), Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) and Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI).

Overall, prison staff were commended for their efforts in improving performance and outcomes for men and women at both prisons. 

However, the CJI Chief Inspector says the current approach to tackling the trade and supply of prescription and illegal drugs at the sites was not "sufficiently robust".

Jacqui Durkan, alongside the Chief Inspector of prisons in England and Wales Peter Clarke, raised concerns that previous inspection recommendations to tackle drug dealing and improve governance around the use of force at both facilities still needed to be addressed.

She said, “The strategy in place to reduce the supply and trade of prescription and illegal drugs or other substances was not sufficiently robust. 

"The number of positive results following a mandatory drug test were too high and security intelligence was not effectively used to better understand and manage the risk of drugs in the women’s prison and Secure College."

“An effective strategy should be implemented now to reduce the supply of drugs."  

In addition, Mr Clarke said too many reports did not clearly explain why the use of force or anti-tear clothing at Ash House was necessary. 

He called for managers in the women’s prison to systematically review body worn camera and CCTV footage and for improvements in how body worn cameras were used at the Secure College.

“These are areas the Governor and his team need to address,” he said.

(CJI Chief Inspector Jacqui Durkan)

Meanwhile, the report also highlighted how prison officers, health care and education staff at Hydebank Wood Secure College and Ash House had made "remarkable progress" on meeting previous recommendations.

Jacqui Durkan and Peter Clarke said, “When Inspectors visited Ash House and Hydebank Wood Secure College in late 2019, our Inspection Team found improvements had been made in three of the four ‘healthy prison’ tests.

“The areas of safety, respect and rehabilitation and release planning or resettlement were assessed to be at the highest level of ‘good,’ with the remaining category of ‘purposeful activity’ assessed at the second highest level of ‘reasonably good’ at both facilities.

“The Inspection Team found 64% of the recommendations made to the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) and their partners in 2016 to improve Hydebank Wood Secure College had been achieved and a further 12% partially achieved.

"The findings were similar at Ash House with 58% of recommendations achieved and 13% partially achieved. 

"These are exceptionally high figures and show what improvements can be achieved when inspection recommendations are approached in a constructive and positive way,”

Levels of violence and incidents of self-harm at Ash House were found to be both lower than at the time of the last inspection and lower than at other women’s prisons in England and Wales inspected by HMIP.

Peter Clarke said, "Outcomes for young men at the Secure College were dramatically better than at comparable prisons in England and Wales.

"In light of this, we recommend those with responsibility for designing and delivering custodial services for young adults, should study the findings of this report carefully and where appropriate, learn from it."

The report also highlighted improvements in collaborative working between health care and prison staff at all levels had significantly improved which was encouraging.

In conclusion both Chief Inspectors highlighted the positive relationships which existed between prisoners and prison staff which did not compromise officers’ ability to carry out their duties.

Jacqui Durkan said, “This culture of respect and strong personal relationships - where staff don’t wear prison officer uniforms and are on first name terms with the women and young men in their care - has undoubtedly helped Ash House and Hydebank Wood Secure College to function well under the changed regime and visit arrangements needed to protect both prisoners and staff during the current Covid-19 crisis."

Peter Clarke added, "We also acknowledge while the co-location of young men and women on a shared site is not fully in accordance with international standards that support the separation of male and female prisoners, these inspections have shown a small amount of well-managed, properly controlled contact can be of considerable benefit,"

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Naomi Long said the report highlights the continued progress of the Northern Ireland Prison Service.

“Safety and respect for prisoners and staff is paramount in rehabilitation, and this has been recognised by inspectors to be at the highest level in Hydebank Wood.

"The report also highlights examples of innovation which have resulted in Hydebank Wood becoming a model of best practice in the management of females and young offenders. Indeed,

"it is truly impressive that we are now setting standards for prison facilities across the UK.”

Naomi Long added: “I would commend Director General Ronnie Armour and his senior team on their continued vision and commitment to transform our Prison Service.

"Since becoming Minister I have been hugely impressed by their work and the emphasis it places on building positive relationships between staff and those placed in our care. I know the Prison Service is determined to build on this very positive and encouraging report through its person centred approach to challenging and supporting individuals to change.”

Director General Ronnie Armour also paid tribute to Governors and staff at Hydebank Wood.

“This excellent inspection report could not have been achieved without the hard work and dedication of Governor Gary Milling and his staff at Hydebank Wood.

"Their efforts to help those young men and women who find themselves in our care have deservedly been acknowledged, and alongside our health care and education partners, I believe much more remarkable progress can be achieved as we move forward."