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Sam Boal via Rolling News

Volume of drug seizures in Irish prisons soars by 42%, as over 1,000 recorded last year

557 weapons were also seized in Irish prisons last year.

THE VOLUME OF drugs, weapons and other contraband discovered in prisons soared last year.

There were 1,018 drug seizures in prisons during 2017 – an average of almost three a day – representing a 42% increase on the 715 seizures that were recorded in 2016.

The number of weapons that were seized last year also increased by 28% to 557, while the number of contraband mobile phones confiscated by prison officers spiked by 35% to 872 during the same period.

The substantial increase in seizures occurred despite the Irish Prison Service (IPS) spending more than €313,000 on systems and equipment designed to tackle smuggling and access to contraband in jails.

These systems included the installation of nets over prison exercise yards in response to a number of known attempts to smuggle drugs into jails by throwing them over walls or by flying them in using drones.

In June 2014, a quadcopter drone worth around €2,000 crash-landed in the yard of Wheatfield Prison while carrying drugs intended for inmates. Last August, a similar operation was foiled when gardaí found a drone outside the walls of the same prison.

Apart from the installation of netting, the IPS declined to provide details of anti-contraband systems and equipment purchased in the past three years, citing security reasons.

However, records released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that a total of €312,989 was spent on such items, excluding VAT, delivery costs and money spent on related staff training.

Last year, more than one-third of all drug seizures in Irish jails occurred at Mountjoy Prison (373). The next-highest haul was from inmates at Wheatfield Prison, where 183 seizures were recorded. There were 13 seizures at the Dóchas Centre, which accommodates female prisoners.

Mountjoy also accounted for more than a third of all mobile phone seizures in 2017 (334), but only 19% of weapons seizures (56). The institution with the highest numbers of weapons recovered last year was Wheatfield (174), followed by Midlands Prison in Portlaoise (105).

“The prevention of access to contraband in prisons remains a high priority for the IPS,” said a spokesperson.

“In 2008, the IPS established a dedicated team of officers who have sole responsibility for preventing the flow of contraband into prisons.

“The Operational Support Group operates the security-screening areas that are now located at the point of entry of all closed prisons. They also operate the canine unit and the Operational Support Unit, which conducts regular searches and gather intelligence in relation to the smuggling of contraband,” he added.

“In addition to the establishment of the OSG, the installation of nets over exercise yards, enhanced CCTV monitoring, stricter control of visits, and the use of targeted and random cell searches on a daily basis have reduced the availability of contraband.

“The introduction of passive and active drug-detection dogs and the installation of airport-style security scanners and x-ray machines has also helped efforts to tackle the problem.”

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    Mute Benjamin Dolan
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    Feb 26th 2018, 9:36 AM

    Some security. you can imagine whats coming into the country, when they can’t even secure a prison.

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    Mute Bruce Miller
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    Feb 26th 2018, 9:39 AM

    @Benjamin Dolan: Not too many escaping though!

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    Mute Rear Admiral
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    Feb 26th 2018, 10:36 AM

    @Bruce Miller: why would they want to with that statistic above

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    Mute Bruce Miller
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    Feb 26th 2018, 10:54 AM

    @Rear Admiral: Freedom?

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    Mute Dotty Dunleary
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    Feb 26th 2018, 11:10 AM

    @Bruce Miller: Why would a lot of those habitual offenders want to escape from prison?
    They get 3 meals a day, allowances to buy cigarettes and snacks, access to a gym for free, a warm/dry bed. Meeting up with all there old gang members to discuss better way to commit crimes.
    Not to mention all the illegal stuff, smuggled mobile phones, drugs, probably play-stations too…

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    Mute Colm Lawlor
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    Feb 26th 2018, 12:29 PM

    @Benjamin Dolan: bit hard to pull the stuff out of their arses

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    Mute Bill O'Brien
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    Feb 26th 2018, 10:27 AM

    For many years those in charge of prisons in this country have turned a blind eye to drug use in prisons. It “kept a lid on things” was how one prison officer, interviewed a few years ago, put it. Its not good enough that you can enter the prison system here clean and come out a drug addict. This is clearly the fault of those in charge of these prisons, Governors, such as John Lonergan, for many years in charge of Mountjoy, have a lot to answer for but have never been made accountable.

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    Mute Sean O'Brien
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    Feb 26th 2018, 12:51 PM

    @Bill O’Brien: I work with x Governor John Lonergan he was not a nice person when a Prison Officer that was involve in a shooting incident (when he was shot at) went to him for help he [Lonergan] ignore that Prison Officer, which is now part of a “Protective Disclosure” and was raised with the “Public Accounts Committee” including the “Justice Committee”.

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    Mute paddy
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    Feb 26th 2018, 3:34 PM

    @Bill O’Brien:nonsense

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    Mute Bruce Miller
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    Feb 26th 2018, 4:30 PM

    @paddy: And why is that – do you know!?

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    Mute paddy
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    Feb 27th 2018, 5:04 PM

    @Bruce Miller: yes bruce i do know

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    Mute Nick
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    Feb 26th 2018, 10:03 AM

    Did charges for drug seizures go up by the same percentage? If not, why?

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    Mute Bruce Wardrop
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    Feb 26th 2018, 9:45 AM

    Would be interesting to see data other relevant info – e.g. the number of searches performed etc to put this figure into context. Are there more detailed / frequent searchers or is there more contraband getting in?

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    Mute John Murphy
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    Feb 26th 2018, 12:20 PM

    Should be a year automatic on to your sentence to be caught with a phone or drugs. There are no meaningful consequences for them.

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    Mute Michael Devlin
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    Feb 26th 2018, 1:43 PM

    Visits should only be behind glass but the human rights brigade wouldnt have it as they can’t seem to comprehend that prison is actually supposed to be punishment. Sentences should be dramatically increased for those caught with phones or drugs inside

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    Mute Féach News
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    Feb 26th 2018, 11:26 AM

    Sales of Vaseline Soar in Phibsborough

    https://twitter.com/thejournal_ie/status/968054233043034112

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    Mute Anthony Gallagher
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    Feb 26th 2018, 12:02 PM

    Now we can see why judges dont want to be sending petty criminals to prisons .anything but rehabilitation

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    Mute blue exile
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    Feb 26th 2018, 1:29 PM

    I predict a riot

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