Prisoners are stealing mops and brooms in order to use their handles to collect drugs from drones, a watchdog has said.
Windows at HMP Garth in Lancashire are being broken at a faster rate than they can be repaired so drugs can be delivered, said Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons.
One prisoner said the stream of drones was so constant that he compared the jail to “an airport”.
The prison, which holds 816 prisoners mostly serving long or indeterminate sentences, is facing “major security issues” with about a 45% increase in violence and many prisoners needing protection because of drug-related debt.
Mops and brooms were being stolen from inside the prison and used to unhook drugs from the drones, Taylor said. “Prisoners were burning holes in their windows to allow the entry of drones laden with contraband, the smell of cannabis was rife.
“Sixty-three per cent of men surveyed said it was easy to get hold of drugs with one, referring to the sheer number of drones coming into the prison, describing the jail as having become an ‘airport’.
“Prisoners were damaging windows faster than they could be repaired, and oversight and searching – including accounting for the mops and brooms being used to collect drugs from drones – were weak.”
HMP Garth is part of the secure estate, a network of prisons, approved premises, bail accommodation and youth detention accommodation across England and Wales.
Behaviour management systems at the prison were not working amid high staff absence rates, Taylor added. “High levels of staff sickness, insufficient training and an unwillingness to challenge prisoner rule-breaking were all contributing to a behaviour management system that had largely broken down,” he said.
“Cross-deployment from the security team meant that searches were often cancelled, and the governor had recently implemented a part-time regime.”
Pia Sinha, the chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “There was a time when prisons within the secure estate were among the most stable within the system. When prisons holding some of the most serious offenders in the country cannot control drugs, violence or maintain order, it undermines our confidence in the entire system.
“The government needs to urgently get a grip of this crisis. In addition to tackling overcrowding, it needs to resource prisons appropriately and give governors the necessary authority and autonomy to make decisions that will help them find solutions to these operational problems. Whether this is about recruitment, retention or procurement, prison leaders need the freedom to find local solutions, together with the cover and resource from the regional team to enable them to do so.”
In January, 400-metre restricted fly zones were established around all closed prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The new government inherited a prison system in crisis and reports like these demonstrate the need for robust action to get the situation back under control.
“We have zero tolerance towards violence and drugs and our security measures, such as X-ray body scanners and anti-drone no-fly zones, detect and stop drugs from entering our prisons.”
