𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Gangs are flooding prisons with drugs because justice chiefs are too slow to improve security, a scathing review has found.

Ministers have been warned that the crisis behind bars is leading to more crime when convicts are released, with many developing habits behind bars.

And prison governors told the National Audit Office it can take years to improve the security of windows – despite the growing threat posed by drones.

Scanners for prisoners’ luggage are also being left broken for months”, the NAO said.

In an alarming admission highlighting the failures to tackle drugs behind bars, the prison service did not spend £25million it had been given for security projects.

And the NAO revealed: “HMPPS seeks to disrupt conveyance routes for drugs using a range of physical solutions such as enhanced scanning and window grilles as well as counter-corruption measures.

“But prison governors we spoke to told us that they do not have sufficient resources to respond to threats in an agile way.

“We identified examples of broken security equipment not being repaired and work to improve window security taking several years.”

A staggering 40,000 inmates have a drug problem, the NAO said.

And drone sightings have surged by 43% in 2024-25.

Justice chiefs are also testing too few prisoners “to produce a robust national estimate of the positive test rate”.

The National Audit Office also revealed prison chiefs have not spent tens of millions allocated to them to prevent the flow of drugs into their jails.

This includes £11million on “physical security” measures, such as new gates, metal detectors, drug dogs and ‘drug trace detection units’.

And the prison service did not spend £7million on improving its intelligence on organised crime gangs smuggling drugs into prisons and selling them behind bars.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “The proliferation of illicit drugs in prisons undermines rehabilitation, damages health, and destabilises prison environments.

“Yet too many of the basic controls and interventions are not being done well enough – from repairing critical security equipment to aligning health and operational priorities.

“Our recommendations are designed to help the prison and health services direct resources to where they can have the greatest impact on this serious problem.”

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts: “The harms caused by illicit drugs in prison are significant.

“They create a dangerous prison economy, damage the health of prisoners, impact on wider society and contribute to the enormous cost of reoffending – estimated at around £20 billion a year.

“HMPPS have not responded to rapidly evolving threats quickly enough and indicators such as increased drone sightings suggest the problem is widespread and worsening.

“Given the scale of the challenge, it is worrying that HMPPS has significantly underspent on previous investment.

“We now need better coordination between HMPPS and our health services to halt supply and curb demand, as well as clarity on future funding and cross-government partnerships as part of the 10-year drug strategy.”