§ Mr. RichardsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the Welsh prison population is made up of prisoners serving sentences for drug-related offences.
§ Mr. Peter LloydOn 30 June 1992, the latest date for which information is readily available, prisoners serving sentences for drugs offences accounted for approximately 3.5 per cent. of the total sentenced population and 2 per cent. of the total population, including remand and non-criminal prisoners, in prison service establishments in Wales.
§ Mr. RichardsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to prevent the flow of drugs into prisons.
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§ Mr. Peter LloydWe have a range of measures to deter and detect attempts to bring drugs into prisons. These include searching prisoners on reception and on return from home leave or other absences; searching or storing away visitors' hand luggage; and searching visitors themselves where there is reason to believe that they intend to smuggle drugs in.
We search prisoners, their cells and other areas for those drugs that do find their way into prison. We have increased the number of prison dogs trained to detect drugs and each prison has received a training package to help staff detect and identify drugs.
The best way to prevent drugs entering prisons is to tackle the root cause by reducing the demand. We have published detailed guidelines on the through care of drug misusers. These require all prisons to have in place effective arrangements for identifying drug users and providing clinical care and detoxification programmes where necessary. We encourage prisons to make full use of community drug agencies to provide counselling and preventive training.