The Government's drug-free prison policy has dramatically failed to reduce substance abuse in Irish prisons and has led to an increase in drug-related intimidation and violence, a report by the Drug Policy Action Group has concluded.
The group's Key Issues For Drugs Policy In Irish Prisonsreport, published today, says recent data on drug consumption in prisons is "so devastating" that it suggests the policy may be unachievable.
While it appears to support a number of positive initiatives, the policy relies on series of security measures designed to eliminate the supply of drugs which inadvertently undermine harm reduction strategies and increase the prevalence of drug-related intimidation and violence, the report claims.
It said: “The current enormous prisons drugs problem is the legacy in part of unrealistic expectations of law enforcement and imprisonment as the main response to drug use".
Data obtained by The Irish Timesin February showed inmates in the Republic's prisons tested positive for drugs 40,000 times over the past three years and detection rates were as high as 75 per cent in some jails.
At a press conference today, Sean Cassin of the Drug Policy Action Group said major changes were needed to reform the "repressive regime" of the prison system if problem drug-use is to be tackled.
"The capacity of the system to provide rehabilitation to drug users is non-existent for most prisoners. The system is so counter to any way of living humanly. Wherever you put people in a setting that is repressive and filled with a boring, apathetic, routine, it generates huge desire for drugs and oblivion," he said.
He also said Government plans to build a new prison complex in north Co Dublin would exacerbate the problem further.
"This will be a modern replication of the Victorian monstrosity that is Mountjoy Prison. Because of the large numbers, the total reliance on prison officers and the lack of any capacity to deal with drug-free recovery, it can only worsen," he said.
"What we have is a recipe for further disaster with higher and higher levels of security, causing more and more levels of control, confinement."
In response to the report, Brian Purcell, director general of the Irish Prison Service, said the report would be given “proper consideration” and that the service would take on board points raised by Dr O'Mahony.
“On first glance, it would appear that Dr O'Mahony, while being critical of some aspects of the Irish Prison Service drugs policy and the progress made to date, does acknowledge that progress has been made,” Mr Purcell said.
“Dr O'Mahony also acknowledges the difficult environment in which we operate and that the drugs problem is not simply about health and legal issues. It also has important psychological and social determinants and effects.”
Mr Purcell added it was clear that Dr O'Mahony accepts it is impossible for the Irish Prison Service to deliver the rehabilitation and drug treatment services necessary “within the physical limitations of prisons such as Mountjoy”.
He continued that this was one of the main reasons the Irish Prison Service has embarked on its building programme.
Paul O'Mahony, a senior lecturer in psychology at Trinity College Dublin, said research has consistently showed that smaller "therapeutic communities" are much better equipped to rehabilitate prisoners.
He said similar models in Scandinavia have proven to be successful by providing specialised therapeutic services in a secure residential setting. These models, he said, have led to major reductions in recidivism when combined with proper aftercare.
In its report, the group concluded there was little doubt that the drugs-free policy, launched in 2004 by then minister for justice Michael McDowell, has failed to deliver on its promises.
Tighter controls such as drug-detecting sniffer dogs, X-ray machines, and mandatory drug-testing have only led to “greater ingenuity and daring” on the part of prisoners in finding ways to secure a supply of drugs, it said.
“The current policy depends on repressive measures which have unavoidable, negative consequences for the relationship between prisoners and prison officers and for the already highly circumscribed freedoms of all prisoners, not just those who use drugs.
“It is obvious that the policy deflects attention and resources from other, possibly more fruitful approaches and, indeed, that it is in conflict with specific harm reduction measures, which are strongly advocated on public health grounds,” it said.
The report also highlighted there was “a glaring contradiction” in a system that claims to have a drugs free policy but increasingly relies on methadone maintenance programmes.
The group said neglect of the problem in prisons means the system consistently fails to establish a secure and safe law-abiding prison environment.
It also maintained that the endemic drug culture in prisons has contributed to the spread and escalation of destructive drug use and drug-related crime in broader Irish society.
In its report, the Drug Policy Action Group said there is still an urgent need for adequately resourced custodial drugs treatment centres, “where useful, abstinence-oriented programmes, such as therapeutic communities and cognitive behavioural therapies, could be provided for suitable prisoners”.
The group also published its submission to the National Drug Strategy Review today.
Fine Gael’s justice spokesman, Charlie Flanagan, claimed the report showed that Fianna Fáil-led governments had turned the prison system into “drug-riddled crime academies”.
Mr Flanagan said: “Several years ago the Government promised to get drugs out of prisons. It has patently failed. The prison system is crippled by a lethal mixture of freely available drugs, violence and intimidation.”
“With the prisons in such a shambolic state, there is no hope of rehabilitating offenders and turning them back into productive members of society,” he said.