THERE have been three articles in the Bolton Evening News since December on drugs in Forest Bank Prison, which is run by UK Detention Services Ltd.

Two of them referred to the fact that I had visited the prison. I spent almost three hours touring most of the prison facilities with the Head of Operations and Security, Steve Taylor, and I also met the Governor, Mr Ivor Woods. I want to thank them for giving me this opportunity.

It is impossible to keep all illicit drugs out of a prison, and prison authorities have to keep up a constant battle to minimise their use inside these institutions. Prisoners and their visitors are very clever at devising new ways of importing drugs into prisons. Inside they are a source of currency.

Forest Bank has sniffer dogs, officers frisk all visitors, and baggage and other personal belongings go through an X-ray machine. However, it is not possible to carry out the kind of intimate body searches on visitors, including babies and children, that would be necessary to find all the drugs entering the prison.

Considering that the majority of inmates in an all-male prison such as Forest Bank are convicted of drug-related offences, and many of those are addicted to heroin, cocaine or some other drug, none of this is surprising.

At the time of a visit by the Chief Inspector of Prisons last summer, four out of 10 mandatory drug tests were found to be positive, which indicates a particularly high drug use in this prison at that time. When I visited the prison on January 5, I was shown 245 mobile phones that had been confiscated, along with several kilograms of cannabis, heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and other drugs. The prison is making an effort to stop drugs entering the prison and, once inside, in finding them, but they cannot afford to be complacent.

I was impressed by many aspects of this prison, despite these drug problems. They have high quality workshops where inmates can learn a skill from firms who rent the space. The gymnasium is excellent, there are good educational opportunities, and the medical wing is also excellent.

I talked to quite a few inmates as I toured the prison, including those who had chosen to be on the drug-free wing where inmates can be supported to give up their drug-using habits. Over 600 of the over 1,000 inmates were from Bolton on the day of my visit.

Altogether, I gained a good impression of the work that this prison is doing under extremely difficult circumstances. I have made some suggestions on improvements that can be made.

Dr Brian Iddon

Member of Parliament for Bolton South East