A new report has revealed a drugs 'crisis' at HMP The Mount in Hertfordshire, where five prisoners have died from accidental overdoses in the past year. The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) report highlights that overdoses have become an 'everyday event' due to a dangerous form of spice laced with the opioid fentanyl.
The report, covering March 2022 to February 2023, states that the prison has been 'plagued by a particularly noxious form of Spice, where the base of synthetic cannabis has been mixed with other substances, including Fentanyl.' It notes that 'Code Blues,' where a prisoner falls unconscious and struggles to breathe, are an everyday occurrence.
Many drugs enter the prison via drones, which can be directed to individual cell windows using mobile phones. Prisoners then lever out the glass to receive packages. Alternatively, 'throwovers'—easily thrown items like tennis balls, fruit, and pipes stuffed with drugs—are used despite barriers. The prison's location, surrounded by a housing estate and a disused airfield, makes it difficult to monitor nearby activity.
The IMB report also raises concerns about staff trafficking illicit items, leading to the establishment of an anti-corruption unit. Measures to tackle the drug problem include dogs, detection screenings for paper 'impregnated' with spice, and removing sugar from the canteen list to curb hooch production.
A Prison Service spokesperson said: 'HMP The Mount is taking decisive action to combat drugs in the prison including reintroducing mandatory drug testing and ramping up searches. We've also invested £100 million into tough prison security measures – such as X-ray body scanners – to find and stop more contraband entering jails.'
