MINISTER DEMANDS ACTION ON PRISON DRUGS AND ILLITERACY

HENRY McLeish, the Scottish Home Affairs Minister, yesterday urged prison
governors to escalate the war on illiteracy and drugs within their jails.

He claimed only success on both fronts could reduce the number of prisoners
resuming a life of crime when released.

Scottish Prison Service executives were promised government support to
improve the education of the country's 6,000 inmates, help curb the flow of
drugs into jails and support addicts through withdrawal.

Mr McLeish said it was unacceptable that, despite literacy being the single
most important skill needed by potential recruits, an estimated 75 per cent
of prisoners in Scotland have difficulty reading and writing.

"That is a crippling disability when they come to seek work outside.
Educating prisoners in its care may therefore be one of the most significant
things the prison service can do to prevent reoffending," he said.

The strengthening of education and training programmes within jails was
clearly crucial when research suggested a prisoner finding work on release
is three times less likely to reoffend, said Mr McLeish.

"It will enhance prisoners' self-esteem and motivation and increase their
ability to cope with everyday life. It will open up alternative future
opportunities. In short, it can change the scope of prisoners' lives."

Senior prison service managers were told that greater cooperation with
education and employment authorities was crucial if inmates were to move out
of jail and into work.

Mr McLeish, addressing a management conference at Peebles, warned the supply
of drugs into prisons and continuing criminal activity by jailed dealers
could jeopardise efforts to rehabilitate offenders.

"We know that the supply of drugs to prisons has become an organised
criminal activity given the concentration of drug users and the premium
prices that can be obtained."

Mr Mcleish revealed that a new campaign against cellblock drug barons is
about to be launched when new technology, including scanners and
surveillance equipment, will be bolstered by increased supervision and
searches to curb the flow of drugs into jails.

Extra funding would see drug-free zones in place at more than 20 jails by
next year.

This, coupled with more testing programmes, counselling and support through
the detoxification process, meant prisoners would have far greater
opportunities to come off drugs.

Earlier, the annual conference of prison service managers focused on the
issues raised by prisoners with special needs, such as those with learning
difficulties and the increasing number of elderly men, jailed for sex crimes
committed sometimes decades earlier.

An overhaul of the Scottish Prison Service policy statement, 'Opportunity
and Responsibility', published in 1990, was also discussed, with some
governors claiming the document, while a useful template for Scotland's
jails after the riots of the 1980s, was now out of date.

A number of senior managers believe the underlying philosophy of the
document - that prisoners must take personal responsibility for their lives
and crimes - was commendable but overly simplistic, and are calling for more
detailed and realistic guidelines and targets.

Checked-by: Don Beck