Lord Carlile of Berriew
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Drones: High-security Prisons
Lord Carlile of Berriew Excerpts(3 days, 10 hours ago)
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Lord Timpson (Lab)
Like the noble Lord, I visited some years ago, so I do not have an exact picture in my mind of the layout of the exercise yards. I can assure him that every male closed prison now has X-ray scanners. In 2003, there were over 1,000 drone sightings. They were up 770% between 2019 and 2023. We have a serious problem but if I know any more details, I will let him know.
Lord Carlile of Berriew (CB)
My Lords, does the noble Lord agree that the focus for prisoners should be on not taking drugs when they come out of prison? Does he agree that there is still a gap in making sure that prisoners know what will be done to help them to stop taking drugs on their release and that, if there was greater co-operation in that regard, we might not have quite as big a problem with drones as we have today?
Lord Timpson (Lab)
The noble Lord is completely right. There are far too many people in prison who arrive addicted and stay addicted. They need an incentive and support not to take drugs. That is why I am a big fan of substance-free living wings and engaging with probation early so that, when people are released, we have a seamless link whereby probation picks up with all the drug workers on release.