Drug use in prisons hits 'endemic' levels, damning report finds
A Justice Committee report claimed a 'dangerous culture' of acceptance is now rife inside British jails, and that the ability of staff to maintain control is being 'critically undermined'
There is a dangerous culture of acceptance that must be broken over the "endemic levels" of drugs in prisons that endanger lives, a committee of MPs has warned.
Some 39% of prisoners find it easy to get drugs - and the use and trade of drugs are crippling the HM Prisons and Probation Service's (HMPPS) ability to keep control and rehabilitate offenders, according to the Justice Committee.
A report published on Friday warned of the "unacceptable" human cost from the crisis, with 16% of 833 deaths investigated between December 2022 to 2024 being determined as drugs-related by the prisons ombudsman.
The cross-party Committee report found 11% of men and 19% of women said they had developed a problem with drugs, alcohol or medication not prescribed to them since arriving in prison. It also discovered a big shift towards the use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), which poses a “volatile threat” due to their affordability, accessibility and their potency.
The report said the Minister of Justice(MOJ) and HMPPS must take urgent steps to update prison drug testing, and also recommended an urgent review of all prescription medication dispensing procedures within prisons to identify and close loopholes.
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigated 833 deaths between December 2022 and December 2024, with 136 classified as drug-related.
The Committee has now called on the MOJ to increase Mandatory Drug Testing rates to at least pre-pandemic levels, including speeding up plans to introduce wastewater-based surveillance to identify new substances.
There were also warnings over drones able to deliver not only large quantities of drugs and mobile phones, but also weapons and potentially firearms and explosives. Records indicate a 77% increase in drone sightings around prisons between 2019 and 2023.
Chair of the Justice Committee and Labour MP Andy Slaughter MP said: “The Committee’s findings during this inquiry were sobering: put simply the drugs crisis across the prison system has reached ‘endemic’ levels, fostering a ‘dangerous culture of acceptance that must be broken’.
“HM Prison and Probation Service’s ability to maintain safety and control, and offer effective rehabilitation, is being critically undermined by the scale of the trade and use of illicit drugs.
“Fuelled by inflated profits, the supply of drugs by organised criminal gangs into prisons is a constant pressure. This is compounded by failure to address and reduce the underlying demand for drugs and combat the alarming rise in the use of sophisticated drone technology.
“Highly potent New Psychoactive Substances are driving increases in violence, debt, and fatal overdoses, with the current testing regime failing to keep pace. Without urgent reform and investment that tackles the profitable supply networks, the discrepancies in treatment provision and purposeful activity, plus the poor physical condition of the estate, prisons will remain unstable, unsafe and incapable of gaining control over the drugs crisis.”
The Justice Department has been approached for comment.