JAIL DRUGS CRACKDOWN TARGETS PRISON OFFICERS

Prison officers are to undergo body scans as part of an UKP80m
crackdown on illegal drug use in prisons, the government said today.

The justice secretary, Jack Straw, said the new body scanners would
be introduced at every jail in England and Wales by next March, to
stop "treacherous" staff betraying their colleagues.

Mobile phone blockers are also planned for every jail to stop
smuggling by officers, inmates and visitors.

Straw attacked corrupt staff after a new report highlighted the role
played by them in smuggling heroin and other illegal drugs.

"It is a betrayal of society and it is also treacherous to colleagues
because with corruption and the smuggling of drugs by prison officers
goes major problems of disorder," Straw said.

"It is intolerable and we are going to do everything we can to catch
you and ensure you get a very long jail sentence."

Today's report, by former policeman David Blakey, also revealed some
prisoners get hold of drugs by abusing a system designed to allow
confidential communication with their lawyers.

Blakey said talks with the Law Society, which represents solicitors,
should consider a registration scheme in a bid to foil the smugglers.

He also proposed a ban on visitors handing property such as clothes
to inmates because illegal drugs can be stitched into garments.

And he said prison bank accounts should be more closely monitored, as
they may be being used to operate drug dealing behind bars.

"These accounts should be a major source of intelligence and they are
not. I am not entirely satisfied that the service is keeping
sufficient track of money that is being held for prisoners within
prisons and outside," he said.

His four-month review found "substantial amounts" of drugs are
smuggled into prisons or thrown over prison walls.

"Inevitably some clever and manipulative prisoners attempt to
cultivate and compromise prison officers," he said.

"Some officers engage in inappropriate relationships with prisoners
and some prisoners offer to pay to staff large amounts of money ... for drugs."

Most staff had great integrity but were let down by a minority of
corrupt colleagues, he said.

The planned network of scanning chairs and greater use of normal
searches should be applied to staff more frequently on a random
basis, he added.

Mobile phone blockers will be introduced, at an estimated cost of
UKP50m. More than 600 mobile handsets and SIM cards are seized in
prisons in England and Wales every month, the report said.

Blakey also suggested prisoners should wear a one-piece boiler suit
with no pockets during visits, or a close fitting shirt and jeans,
rather than a tracksuit, in a bid to reduce smuggling.

A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers in June warned trying to make
every prison in England and Wales drug-free would be too expensive.
Over half the record 83,000 jail population misuse drugs, the report said.

Blakey agreed eradicating illegal drugs from jails would require an
impractical level of searches and closed visits for every inmate.