Prisons: Drugs
(asked on 16th December 2021) - View Source
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish a breakdown of drug incidents in prison since 2010 by (a) drug type and (b) overall weight substances.
Figures showing the number of incidents where drugs were found in prisons by type of drug onwards are included in the following table from 2013-14 to 2020-21:
Number of incidents where drugs(1),(2),(3) were found in prisons in England and Wales by drug type and class
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| 12 months ending March |
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| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
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TOTAL INCIDENTS | 4,469 | 6,332 | 9,621 | 10,666 | 13,118 | 18,325 | 21,575 | 20,295 |
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Class A drug types: |
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Cocaine | 75 | 89 | 108 | 128 | 167 | 1,216 | 1,966 | 2,083 |
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Crack | 8 | 12 | 29 | 26 | 42 | 48 | 49 | 59 |
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Heroin | 209 | 184 | 232 | 163 | 173 | 400 | 639 | 591 |
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LSD | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 154 | 81 |
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Methadone | - | - | 7 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 32 | 26 |
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Class A Total(4) | 292 | 290 | 381 | 337 | 408 | 1,748 | 2,840 | 2,840 |
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Class B drug types: |
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Amphetamines | 63 | 48 | 60 | 55 | 66 | 199 | 273 | 435 |
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Barbiturates | 23 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 20 | 12 |
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Cannabis | 1,142 | 901 | 1,006 | 1,582 | 2,258 | 3,144 | 3,723 | 3,292 |
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Cannabis Plant | 328 | 239 | 186 | 181 | 258 | 328 | 408 | 287 |
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Class B Total(4) | 1,556 | 1,200 | 1,258 | 1,828 | 2,591 | 3,684 | 4,424 | 4,026 |
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Class C drug types: |
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Benzodiazepines | - | - | 23 | 22 | 34 | 92 | 95 | 115 |
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Buprenorphine/Subutex | - | - | 208 | 264 | 296 | 329 | 335 | 331 |
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Steroids | - | - | 383 | 659 | 593 | 581 | 475 | 372 |
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Tramadol | - | - | 20 | 23 | 33 | 33 | 86 | 89 |
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Tranquilisers | 23 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
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Class C Total(4) | 23 | 25 | 659 | 987 | 985 | 1,064 | 1,021 | 938 |
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Prescription drug types: |
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Gabapentin | - | - | 28 | 45 | 64 | 110 | 144 | 89 |
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Pregabalin | - | - | 42 | 80 | 159 | 219 | 273 | 203 |
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Prescription drugs Total(4) | - | - | 70 | 125 | 223 | 329 | 417 | 292 |
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Psychoactive substances (5) | - | - | 3,182 | 4,560 | 4,667 | 6,658 | 8,192 | 9,114 |
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Other (6) | 2,898 | 5,236 | 3,322 | 1,182 | 1,605 | 2,302 | 2,922 | 2,535 |
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Unknown | - | - | 1,645 | 3,087 | 3,930 | 4,380 | 4,362 | 2,607 |
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Source: HMPPS Incident Reporting System
(1) A breakdown showing drug type for incidents where drugs were found in prisons was introduced in January 2013.
(2) A new incident type was introduced in October 2015. This added an additional 9 categories of drugs that are reportable which, prior to this period would have been reported under 'other'. The drug types which were added at this point are: Psychoactive substances, Benzodiazepines (included within tranquillisers), Buprenorphine, Gabapentin, Methadone, Pregabalin, Steroids, Tremadol and a category for when the drug type is unknown. This incident type also introduced the formal reporting of drug weight found in incidents so this is only available from this time.
(3) More than one type of drug can be found in a single incident, therefore the sum of the drug types found will be higher than the total incidents.
(4) Totals are the sum of the sub-categories within each section. As more than one type of drug can be found in a single incident, sum totals will include some incidents multiple times.
(5) In the Psychoactive Substances Act (2016) “psychoactive substance” means any substance which is capable of producing a psychoactive effect in a person who consumes it, and is not an exempted substance. Exempted substances are: controlled drugs, medicinal products, alcohol or alcoholic products, nicotine, tobacco products, caffeine or caffeine products or any substance which is ordinarily consumed as food, and does not contain a prohibited ingredient.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/2/contents
(6) The 'other' category may include drugs which would be presented in the other classifications but are not formally recorded so cannot be split out into these categories.
Figures showing the number of incidents where drugs were found in prisons, by drug type, are published from April 2016 onwards in the HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2020 to March 2021, table 9.2b (within the link below). A breakdown showing drug type for incidents where drugs were found in prisons was introduced in January 2013. It is not possible to provide a breakdown by type of drug prior to then, but the above table includes an additional breakdown of drug type between 2013-14 and 2015-16 that is not included within the published data.
Figures showing a breakdown of drug finds by drug weight are only available from October 2015 and are included within table 9.2d (within the link below):
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2020-to-march-2021
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