Ombudsman says education trumps enforcement in the war on drug deaths

Usher: ‘They will get you in the end’

Adrian Usher used to be a policeman on a drug squad. Now he is the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, responsible for investigating drug deaths in jails. He tells Inside Time that education, not enforcement, will save lives

Adrian Usher, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, is greatly troubled by drugs in prisons, and the deaths they cause. In an interview with Inside Time, he told us: “Prisoners have to perform complex chemical procedures to dilute drugs, and die when they get it wrong.”

He told us that his staff have now changed their approach. “When we used to come across deaths from drugs in prison, which sadly is too often, we used to emphasise that the governor and the jail should redouble their efforts to stop drugs getting in. But the money is so big – it is a multi, multi-million pound organised crime endeavour, and there are limited levers that a governor has available to them to stop drugs coming in, particularly because they have to fight corrupt staff, to deal with drones, with visits, with correspondence coming into the jails, all of which are potential methods of drugs getting into prisons. It is a really big challenge. 

Most addicts reach the point where the single most important thing in the world, more than their partners or children, is getting the drugs.

“Our message has now changed to say it is the responsibility of the Prison Service to educate prisoners on the lethality of what they are doing. I think we should stop referring to ‘Spice’. Whether we call them ‘psychoactive substances’ or whether we call them ‘synthetic opioids’, all of these things can be banded together in one group, which is that they are unknown lethal compounds. Most drugs taken in prison are in a concentrated form because it makes them lighter as a payload, and so you are relying on prisoners to perform complex chemical procedures to dilute them to a non-lethal dosage, and they get it wrong.

“Look at Parc, where we lost five prisoners in a very short space of time to unknown chemicals. It is the responsibility of the prison to explain to people in a language that they can understand that if you are playing with unknown lethal compounds, they will get you in the end. If we compare two rolling 12-month periods, we have seen the number of drug deaths in prisons increase, and we are likely to see close to a 60 per cent increase in deaths between these years.”

I asked if there should be more focus on investigating bank accounts for activity funding drugs. “I used to work on a drug squad, and unravelling a trail of cash through bank accounts is a lengthy process, and you have to have sufficient grounds to get a warrant issued. It is important, but certainly not easy.”

I asked if he thought there should be more efforts to educate families who are sending in money to pay for their loved ones’ drugs, showing the harm they are doing? “Yes, writing to them or talking to them when their loved one is taking drugs in prison – explaining the harm, and that it is essential to help them stop and not to fund them – would be positive. It is massive for next of kin, but when family members are contacted by their loved one and told that they are in drug debt, and so they pay it off, that is not helping. You are not breaking the cycle. 

“People change completely. It destroys relationships, because most addicts reach the point where the single most important thing in the world, more than their partners, or children, is getting the drugs. That tears into a million pieces family units that have been together for years. You are funding a criminal enterprise.”

He said that drones are a significant and increasing worry, and getting more powerful. “They will be capable of carrying a person soon.” Tom Wheatley, President of the Prison Governors’ Association, cited this as a major concern for prisons in recent interviews. 

It is a personal choice to take drugs. We have to find ways to show to those in prison that it is a choice that, if it does not actually kill them, will damage their health for the rest of their lives.

“Stopping [drones] with electronic screens is tough. I was involved in looking at this, but there is a problem with blocking technology and the impact on the surrounding area, and also there is so much money for the criminals that whatever technology is introduced, the crime gangs will find a way around it. Work must focus on cutting down on the demand.

“It is particularly difficult with so many on remand who feel they have no incentive to take part in activities, but can be stuck in prison for so long. I met a man who had been on remand for three years recently, with no idea for how long he may be sentenced still, and no desire to do anything other than just pass the time.”

Mr Usher is determined to work to end drug deaths in prisons. The House of Commons Justice Committee published a powerful report telling the Government it must find effective action very soon. Committee Chair Andy Slaughter expressed disappointment having seen the Government response, adding that without the reforms his Committee recommended, “prisons will remain unstable, unsafe, and incapable of gaining control over the drugs”. 

HM Chief Inspector for Prisons, Charlie Taylor, and Independent Monitoring Boards raise the issue in report after report. The Coroner for Birmingham and Solihull, Emma Brown, issued a Prevention of Future Deaths notice which has been sent to the Justice Secretary to take action to cut down on drugs getting into prisons, highlighting drones, but Mr Usher says it needs co-ordination with urgent action and proper resources.

He ended saying: “It is a personal choice to take drugs. We have to find ways to show to those in prison that it is a choice that, if it does not actually kill them, will damage their health for the rest of their lives.” He and his team will certainly continue to press for effective action that will save lives.