Organised crime gangs are flying illegal drugs into jails causing increased violence and a threat that needs to be taken seriously at the highest levels of Government, watchdog warns
Vast quantities of drugs are being smuggled into jails by drones fuelling “uncontrollable levels of criminality” in prisons, a watchdog has warned
Organised crime gangs are delivering contraband to bored and vulnerable inmates causing rising violence, according to the chief inspector of prisons’ annual report. Charlie Taylor previously warned that drones dropping drugs at high-security jails HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin was a “threat to national security”.
The watchdog boss said: “The challenge for the prison service must be to work in conjunction with the police and security services to manage prisoners associated with organised crime. This is a threat that needs to be taken seriously at the highest levels of Government.
“Only when drugs are kept out, and prisoners are involved in genuinely purposeful activity that will help them to get work and resettle successfully on release, can we expect to see prisons rehabilitate rather than just contain the men and women they hold.”
Some 39% of respondents to prisoner surveys said it was easy to get drugs in prison, and inspectors regularly visited prisons where the recorded rate of positive random drug tests was more than 30%.
The report said in many jails there were “seemingly uncontrollable levels of criminality” that often inexperienced staff were unable to contain. It also found it “unsurprising” that national rates of violence increased last year, destroying trust between staff and prisoners, making the chance of rehabilitation unlikely.
Mr Taylor’s report found overcrowding and lack of activity caused frustration among prisoners which fuelled the demand for drugs, with many spending most of the day in cramped shared cells with broken furniture and vermin.
Purposeful activity was the worst performing assessment category by inspectors, with 28 out of 38 adult prisons visited deemed to be ‘poor’ or ‘not sufficiently good’ in this area.
The findings reviewed from April 2024 to March 2025 come as ministers grapple with overcrowding and high-profile security incidents in jails.
The Government approved the use of protective body armour for prison staff in high security areas, after four prison officers were attacked with hot oil and homemade weapons by Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi at HMP Frankland in April.
Ministers have also vowed to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031 and have accepted recommendations from the independent sentencing review to curb overcrowding in the long-term.
Responding to the prison watchdog’s annual report, Andrea Coomber KC, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This report is a checklist for all the reasons the government must prioritise reducing prison numbers, urgently.
“Sentencing reform is essential, and sensible steps to reduce the prison population would save lives, protect staff, and help more people to move on from crime.”
Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, also said the report paints a sadly familiar picture of a prison system in deep crisis, which is not just a prison problem but a “public safety issue”. “Prisons should be places of rehabilitation, not warehouses of despair,” she said.
Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Lord Timpson, said: “This report shows the scale of the crisis we inherited and the unacceptable pressures faced by our hardworking staff – with prisons dangerously full, rife with drugs and violence.
“We are ending this chaos. After just 500 prison places added in 14 years, we’re building 14,000 extra – with 2,400 already delivered – and reforming sentencing to ensure we never run out of space again. We’re also improving prisons so they cut crime, not create better criminals.
“We’re also investing £40 million to bolster security, alongside stepping up cooperation with police to combat drones and stop the contraband which fuels violence behind bars”.