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Prisons: Drugs

Volume 472: debated on Tuesday 26 February 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of prisoners in each contracted-out prison were subject to yearly mandatory drug testing in each of the last five years; and (a) how many and (b) what percentage of those tested positive for drugs. (188348)

Prisoners are subject to both random and targeted mandatory drug testing. The figures1 for contracted out prisons in each of the last five years are given in the following tables. Some prisoners will have been tested more than once in any year.

Random MDT testing

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Prison

Tests

% pop

% +

Tests

% pop

% +

Tests

% pop

% +

Tests

% pop

% +

Tests

% pop

% +

Altcourse

1,172

10.0

12.0

1,182

9.9

12.0

1,155

10.0

14.7

1,136

9.9

10.4

1,204

9.7

13.0

Ashfield

330

10.3

11.5

297

8.9

8.1

339

9.6

7.4

365

9.2

3.6

442

9.8

1.8

Bronzefield2

283

8.4

17.0

384

7.6

9.9

277

5.5

5.8

Doncaster

1,266

9.4

9.7

1,262

9.5

10.7

1,305

9.9

8.2

1,309

10.1

6.2

1,339

10.0

8.5

Dovegate

788

8.7

11.7

817

8.0

17.5

922

9.2

15.2

829

8.5

16.0

807

8.1

12.5

Forest Bank

1,263

10.4

14.9

1,298

10.8

21.4

1,225

10.0

21.0

624

5.1

21.0

640

5.1

9.5

Lowdham Grange

315

5.1

4.1

309

4.9

4.9

311

5.1

8.4

310

5.0

10.3

327

5.0

14.4

Parc

539

4.6

14.3

583

5.0

23.8

599

5.0

15.2

597

5.0

6.5

628

4.9

5.4

Peterborough Female3

266

13.9

10.5

387

15.8

7.8

Peterborough Male3

411

8.9

16.1

507

4.9

21.5

Rye Hill

393

5.0

4.6

396

5.0

7.3

386

5.0

14.0

356

5.0

16.3

367

5.1

15.8

Wolds

465

10.2

3.2

419

10.1

3.3

425

10.3

1.4

361

10.2

1.4

403

9.9

5.5

Targeted MDT testing

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Prison

Tests

% pop

% +

Tests

% pop

% +

Tests

% pop

% +

Tests

% pop

% +

Tests

% pop

% +

Altcourse

211

1.8

37.9

152

1.3

33.6

327

2.9

47.1

309

2.7

32.4

137

1.1

24.8

Ashfield

201

6.3

32.3

163

4.9

45.4

197

5.7

43.1

154

3.9

42.2

217

4.8

43.3

Bronzefield2

69

2.0

43.5

101

2.0

34.7

153

3.0

27.5

Doncaster

923

6.9

26.2

1284

9.6

23.8

1398

10.6

19.8

1350

10.5

18.1

1088

8.1

28.3

Dovegate

177

2.0

18.6

403

4.0

15.1

383

3.9

15.7

551

5.7

24.7

612

6.1

22.1

Forest Bank

659

5.4

L38.1

678

5.6

51.2

682

5.6

49.9

1134

9.2

54.1

1273

10.0

42.9

Lowdham Grange

511

8.2

7.0

602

9.6

8.3

549

8.9

8.4

542

8.9

16.8

626

9.5

12.9

Parc

26

0.2

53.8

77

0.6

49.4

47

0.4

17.0

107

0.9

19.6

118

1.0

16.9

Peterborough Female3

236

12.3

27.1

444

18.1

17.3

Peterborough Male3

135

2.9

39.3

340

3.3

35.9

Rye Hill

141

1.8

23.4

129

1.7

26.4

30

0.4

40.0

37

0.6

45.9

221

3.0

34.4

Wolds

65

1.4

21.5

120

3.0

18.3

122

2.9

14.8

125

3.5

18.4

128

3.1

10.2

1 % pop = percentage of prisoners tested based on total of monthly population figures over twelve months; % + = percentage of tests that tested positive.

2 HMP Bronzefield did not open until June 2004.

3 HMP Peterborough did not open until March 2005.

Notes:

1. Information has not been provided for the total number of tests that tested positive as this can be calculated by using the percentage of positive tests and the number of tests carried out.

2. There are two types of MDT—random and targeted. The random MDT positive rate is one of the prison service's key performance indicators. Initially, 10 per cent. of every prison's population was tested each month under the random programme, but since 1999 prisons with a population of 400 or above have tested 5 per cent. The reduced level of random testing was expected to be compensated for by an increase in targeted testing. Due to contractual obligations, some contracted out prisons have continued to test at the 10 per cent. random level.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what quantity of drugs has been detected by passive drug detection dogs since their introduction in each of the prisons in which they have been deployed. (188377)

The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Records of passive drug dog indications and subsequent drug finds are held locally, so to obtain the information required would mean consulting all prisons that are operating or have operated passive drug dogs.