Jails 'failing to treat inmates'

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The public is being put at risk from drug addicts and mentally ill offenders released from jail without treatment, leading prison doctors have said.

The members of the British Medical Association (BMA) blamed "political failure" for turning prisons into "just a holding pen for criminals".

They also demanded an inquiry into drug dealing inside prisons, which had left them "swamped by illegal narcotics".

The Prison Reform Trust said better treatment was vital to cut reoffending.

Earlier this month, Labour peer Lord Carter of Coles unveiled his review of the prison system in England and Wales.

But the BMA said the report ignored prison healthcare and its role in the UK's "appalling reoffending rate".

In November, paranoid schizophrenic Anthony Joseph admitted killing Richard Whelan on a bus in north London in 2005 after he was released from prison by mistake.

'Psychological disorders'

The BMA accused the prison system of a "terrible failure" in releasing large numbers of individuals "not fit to return to the community".

Dr Redmond Walsh, a prison doctor in London and member of the BMA's Civil and Public Services Committee, said prison healthcare facilities, rehabilitation programmes and post-release monitoring services were under enormous pressure.

The situation... requires urgent action in the opening months of 2008 to prevent further innocent people's lives being damaged Dr Clare Jenkins, BMA

"An estimated two thirds of prisoners who enter custody are drug dependent and seven out of 10 have one or more psychological disorders," Dr Walsh said.

"It is clear that these conditions are, in a large number of cases, the primary cause of their criminal activity."

Dr Walsh said prisons were neglecting their responsibility to treat patients who could be a threat to the public.

"Large parts of the prison system have become just a holding pen for criminals rather than a secure environment where their behaviour is assessed and treated if possible."

He said widespread drug dealing in jails made it "close to impossible to wean some prisoners off their habit or protect susceptible prisoners from becoming addicts".

To combat this, the BMA demanded a formal inquiry into the "escalating drugs problem" and a national strategy to tackle it.

Among its recommendations were:

<ul class="bulletList"><li>All prisoners should be assessed for drug treatment within 24 hours of sentencing

<li>Community orders should be considered to ensure prisoners continue with drug treatment after their release

<li>Hit squads run jointly by police and the prison service should be sent into jails to investigate drug dealing and instigate criminal prosecutions</li></ul>

'Not a hospital'

Dr Clare Jenkins, chairwoman of the Civil and Public Services Committee, said 2007 had been "a disaster" for the prison system.

For those in jail who remain in need of treatment, clearly services must improve Juliet Lyon, Prison Reform Trust

"The BMA believes that the situation has reached a critical point and requires urgent action in the opening months of 2008 to prevent further innocent people's lives being damaged by individuals who, in some cases, could have their criminal motivating conditions addressed," she said.

Prison Reform Trust director Juliet Lyon said: "Prison is not a hospital.

"For those in jail who remain in need of treatment, clearly services must improve.

"Additional support on release is vital to cut re-offending and to enable people to survive and settle in their communities."

The prison population reached 81,455 in the week ending 30 November.

Earlier this year, overcrowding forced the government to order the early release of more than 11,000 inmates and the use of police cells to provide extra capacity.