Half of inmates in single prison test positive for drugs

ALMOST HALF of inmates in a single prison tested positive for illicit drugs, according to the annual report of the Inspector of Prisons.

During his inspection of Loughan House, a low-security detention centre in Co Cavan, Judge Michael Reilly established that some 44 per cent of prisoners had tested positive for drugs. The most common drug was cannabis.

“Given that this is supposed to be a coterie of prisoners who are drug-free, this is a matter of serious concern and suggests that the overall level of drug abuse in our prisons is very high,” Judge Reilly said.

Most of the prisoners had been transferred from “closed prisons”, prompting the observation that drugs must also be available in these institutions, he added.

Castlerea, Wheatfield, Midlands, Limerick, St Patrick’s Institution, Mountjoy, Portlaoise and Cloverhill prisons had all transferred inmates to Loughan House.

The inspector said all prisons should introduce mandatory drug testing in a bid to establish the scale of the problem, and to introduce more drug-free sections.

“The availability of drugs in prisons poses a continuing challenge for the Irish Prison Service,” he said.

“It is important that the service does not just concentrate on eliminating the supply of drugs to prisons, but side-by-side with this it must provide adequate resources for the rehabilitation and treatment of drug-addicted prisoners.”

Judge Reilly also expressed concern at large numbers of prisoners on “protection”, who are locked up for up to 23 hours a day due to fears for their personal safety.

At one point last year there were 825 prisoners on protection in nine prisons, accounting for 26 per cent of all inmates.

“A simple incident in prison can push an already irritable prisoner completely over the edge. When management are doubling up prisoners in cells, or placing prisoners in other cells with multiple occupancy, it is critical that a thorough risk and needs assessment is undertaken on all such prisoners,” Judge Reilly said.

Similarly, he said about 25 per cent of young offenders at St Patrick’s Institution were on protection.

“It is a sad reflection on society that the lives of boys as young as 16 are under threat whilst in custody by reason of their involvement in the gang rivalry that has manifested itself as a sub-culture in modern Irish society.”

In a separate report on Castlerea, he expressed concern at dirty conditions in the prison, with some prisoners forced to sleep on soiled mattresses.

“The circumstances that I found them in could not be condoned in any civilised society,” he said.