‘Zero tolerance’ pledge on prison drugs

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JUSTICE Secretary Kenny MacAskill yesterday pledged a “zero tolerance” approach to drugs in prisons.

He was speaking after witnessing a new model of treating drug addicts at Saughton Prison in Edinburgh.

This integrates medical treatment with therapeutic support to help a prisoner’s recovery from drug problems.

Mr MacAskill said that, as prisoner numbers remain at record levels, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) faces a “testing time”.

But, he added: “I am fully committed to zero tolerance of illegal drug use and trafficking in prisons and I know I am fully supported by the SPS.

“The harsh fact is that two-thirds of those who enter prison have a drug problem, and their crime is often associated with funding their addiction. Nevertheless drugs in prison will not be tolerated nor will it be accepted as an inevitable fact of life, irrespective of present difficulties.”

Prison officers at Saughton have intercepted or found more than 50 grams of class A drugs and 76 mobile phones, which can be used in drug trafficking, in the last three months alone.

“These efforts are being replicated throughout Scotland,” said Mr MacAskill.

The new integrated approach at Saughton to treating addicts in prison was highlighted in the Scottish Government’s recent drugs strategy.