Caroline Flint – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Caroline Flint on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to tackle access to and use of psychoactive substances in prisons.

Mr Sam Gyimah

The Justice Secretary is clear that safety is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system and a vital part of our reform plans. There are a number of factors, including the availability of psychoactive substances in prisons, which must be tackled in order to make our prisons safe and places of rehabilitation.

We have introduced tough new laws which will see those who smuggle packages over prison walls, including new psychoactive substances, face up to two years in prison. Those who involve themselves in the distribution of drugs in our prisons should know that they could face prosecution and extra time behind bars. We have a comprehensive range of security measures and searching techniques in place to detect drugs, and to prevent smuggling into prisons.