MENACE OF ADDICTS FREED FROM PRISON

The public is being put at risk because addicts are being released
from prisons "swamped" by drugs without receiving treatment, doctors'
leaders have warned.

The British Medical Association says an escalating drugs problem
within jails has led to hundreds of criminals who were clean when they
were convicted becoming addicts while behind bars.

It claims that there has been a series of "terrible failures" in a
prison system that is "releasing large numbers of individuals who are
not fit to return to the community".

The BMA calls for "hit squads" run jointly by the police and prison
service to be sent into jails to tackle drug--dealing inmates.

Dr Redmond Walsh, a prison doctor in London and member of the BMA's
Civil and Public Services Committee, claims that a shambolic system of
rehabilitation is responsible for the "appalling" re-offending rate in
Britain.

"Many prisons are currently swamped by illegal narcotics - a situation
that makes it close to impossible to wean some prisoners off their
habit or protect susceptible prisoners from becoming addicts," he says.

"Medical records - the key tool for doctors - are poorly maintained
and often not transferred properly between prisons or from the community.

"Post-release monitoring services, which should make sure offenders
have accommodation and adequate supervision after release, are
frequently disorganised and occasionally unavailable.

"The combined result of these problems is that the prison system is
releasing large numbers of individuals who are not fit to return to
the community.

"The UK's appalling re-offending rate, where two thirds of prisoners
commit a crime within two years of release, is clear evidence of this
terrible failure."

Dr Walsh says an estimated two-thirds of prisoners who enter custody
are dependent on drugs, and that seven out of 10 have one or more
psychological disorders.

"The priority for the prison system after custodial punishment should
therefore be to treat individuals, where possible, so that when they
are released they are no longer a threat to themselves or the
community," he says.

"However, this responsibility is being neglected in many areas of the
country."

The BMA is calling for an inquiry into the "escalating drugs problem"
and a national strategy to reduce the availability of drugs in prisons.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "NHS primary care
trusts are properly considering prisons as part of their wider
communities.

"We are working to improve the areas identified by the doctors, for
example reception screening is currently being reviewed, and we are
working to produce guidance which will improve the operation of court
diversion schemes for mentally ill offenders."