BIG INCREASE IN PRISON SMUGGLING

BISLEY'S prison is struggling with the number of visitors smuggling
banned items.

Despite the improved efforts from police and prison staff, an
independent report says HMP Coldingley has seen a 62.6% rise in the
number of inmates caught in possession of banned items.

The biggest concern is smuggled mobile phones being used for drug
trafficking.

While the number of inmates caught with drugs in their system has
reduced from 97 in 2006 to 69 last year, the Independent Monitoring
Board (IMB) found the number of prisoners disciplined for possessing
banned articles rocketed from 155 to 252.

The IMB report stated: "Despite the efforts of staff and police, there
are continuing problems with the circulation of drugs in the prison
and unwelcome pressures on families and friends to smuggle drugs at a
grave risk to their own freedom if caught.

"The IMB criticises the failure of HM Prison Service to introduce more
effective technical counter-measures, especially against mobile phones
used in prison to arrange drug deals."

The report also raised concern about financial cuts to the service at
a time of overcrowding in prisons, which is having a negative impact
on prisoners but praised the general running of Coldingley.

But IMB chairman Gail O'Flaherty said the issues with illegal phone
technology in prison needed to be addressed.

She added: "Mobiles have got into the prison and more needs to happen
to stop this. The prison is trying to address it but the blocking of
mobiles should be looked at. It is technology that is used in some
universities during exams."

John Robinson, governor of the Shaftesbury Road prison, said: "A lot
of the banned equipment found on prisoners has been mobile phone components.

"We have been very successful in finding them.

"As far as I am concerned there is a direct link between mobile phones
and drug trafficking. It gives prisoners an opportunity to arrange
deliveries and pick-ups.

"As a result we have introduced punishments similar to those issued to
inmates found in possession of drugs, such as cell confinement and
additional days to a sentence.

"We deal with it very robustly and we do have detectors that will
alert us when a phone is being used."

Regarding the possibility of introducing mobile phone blocking, Mr
Robinson said: "We know the prison service has carried out a lot of
research about it but my understanding is that it would be extremely
difficult to block signals in such a compact area.

"It would be extremely expensive, the cost would run into tens of
thousands, there is also a risk that we would block the signals of
legitimate phone users just outside the jail."

Mr Robinson did point to the success of the prison in reducing the
number of inmates with drugs in their system, something that was noted
in the IMB report.

He said: "We have had considerable success during the past 12 months.
The average for random positive tests has dropped from 30% in 2006 to
8% the following year.

"We are making life more difficult for people getting drugs in and we
are being more punitive to drug offenders."