Report shows jail drug tests have less effect on heroin use

Mandatory drug testing in prison is much more effective in stopping prisoners from using cannabis than it is in ending their heroin habit, a conference on drugs in prison heard at the weekend.

The Irish Penal Reform Trust heard a report from Mr Kimmett Edgar, a research officer at the Oxford University Centre for Criminological Research who studied mandatory drug testing in five prisons in England.

Under the mandatory drug testing regime introduced in all penal establishments in England and Wales by 1996, punishments for prisoners who tested positive for drugs included added days in prison, loss of privileged jobs, and being put on closed visits.

Mr Edgar's study involved 148 prisoners in five prisons in England and Wales. Only 37 of the prisoners claimed they did not use drugs in prison. The study reported that over half (52 per cent) of the remaining 111 prisoners said the increased risk of detection and sanctions as a result of drug testing had "a substantial impact on their drug misuse". Thirty (27 per cent) of the prisoners who said they had formerly taken drugs in prison claimed to have stopped completely. Some 17 said they had reduced their consumption.

However, the testing had widely varying effects on the consumption of different drugs. While almost half (46 per cent) of those in the study who used cannabis in prison but not heroin, said that the testing had encouraged them to stop using cannabis, only 13 per cent of those who used heroin in custody said it had stopped them from using the drug. This may reflect the fact that heroin remains detectable in the body for a shorter time than cannabis. Four prisoners said they had tried heroin for the first time and cut down their cannabis use because of mandatory drug testing, while 11 multi-drug users altered the balance of their drugtaking in order to increase their chances of escaping detection. While the punishment of more time in prison if tested positive was a factor influencing some prisoners' behaviour, Mr Edgar's study found the prospect of losing temporary release, good prison jobs and visiting privileges were more important factors influencing prisoners' drug-taking. Mr Edgar cautioned that testing led to increased tension between staff and inmates and that the punishment of more time in prison adds to the prison population. He also drew attention to the fact that a significantly lower proportion of English and Welsh prisoners used heroin than was the case in some Irish prisons.