The trade and use of illicit drugs in our prisons has reached endemic levels. There is a prevailing culture of acceptance which tolerates drug use and makes it almost impossible for prisoners to escape the problem or for prisons to deal with it. This is reflected in the fact that 39 per cent of prisoners find it easy to acquire drugs. Our report finds that the endemic level of drugs in our prisons endangers lives and cripples the ability of His Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) to maintain control and safety and to rehabilitate effectively. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigated 833 deaths between December 2022 and December 2024, with 136 (16 per cent) classified as drug-related. The system is failing, and the human cost is unacceptable.

We heard that, once a prisoner is exposed to the “menu of drugs” available to them, the pressure from the established drug-using subculture makes it exceptionally difficult to resist drug use. Eleven per cent of men and 19 per cent of women said they had developed a problem with drugs, alcohol or medication not prescribed to them since arriving in prison.

The prison drugs market is driven by the volatile threat of New Psychoactive Substances, especially highly potent synthetic opioids such as Nitazenes. Nitazenes are significantly more potent than heroin and present an acute threat of overdose, having already been linked to deaths at HMP Parc in 2024. Prisoners are coerced into using new, unregulated substances as ‘guinea pigs’.

Drugs in prisons fuel violence and debt whilst also exacerbating existing mental health conditions and trauma. With prisoners routinely locked in their cells for up to 22 hours a day, the persistent lack of purposeful activity and boredom drives them to use drugs for escapism.

The illicit drug economy is dominated by Organised Criminal Gangs who monopolise the highly lucrative prison drugs market. Concerningly, the Chief Inspector of Prisons said the police and prison service have “ceded the airspace” above two high-security prisons, with HMPPS records indicating a 770 per cent increase in drone sightings around prisons between 2019 and 2023. Prices are enormously inflated, with drugs selling for up to 100 times their street value. Our findings confirm that this sophisticated criminal supply chain is not limited to drugs, but also mobile phones and, less commonly but still of concern, weapons. We are deeply concerned that this constant flow of prohibited items places both prisoners and staff at risk.

The emergence of sophisticated drones to convey drugs represents a “paradigm shift”, offering the unique advantage of bypassing traditional perimeter security to deliver packages often including higher value items. Alarmingly, we heard about drones that could lift “a moderate-sized person”. Despite the escalating threat posed by drones, our report finds that traditional ingress routes such as throwovers and visits remain persistent and are more common. Our report finds that when physical security measures are strengthened, criminals adapt and change ingress routes which can include corrupting staff. This everchanging game of ’cat and mouse’ makes it difficult to disrupt supply chains without an increase in security resources We also note that supply reduction alone is insufficient while the demand for drugs remains overwhelming.

Improvements made in treatment are stagnated by a fragmented and inconsistent commissioning structure. The division of responsibility between NHS England (in-prison care) and local authorities (community care) creates a gap where therapeutic progress is interrupted and incoherent upon release. This jeopardises recovery, guarantees high rates of relapse and contributes directly to the risk of fatal overdose experienced by individuals recently released from custody. The priority must shift from simply managing the crisis to delivering a single, continuous and effective public health pathway designed to save lives. Worryingly, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman investigated 137 post-release deaths (within 14 days of release) between September 2021 and December 2023, finding that 83 (61 per cent) were drug-related. Of which, 20 deaths occurred within a single day of release.

Our report considers the operational constraints placed upon prison governors, who are tasked with leading the response to the drug epidemic. This is particularly challenging with the additional strain of a prison population crisis and in some cases, severe overcrowding. We highlight how governors lack resources, robust data systems and face overly bureaucratic procurement processes. Our report raises concerns that the ability to deliver a stable, rehabilitative environment is often constrained by failures to disrupt the supply of drugs into prisons and the need to reduce the demand for drugs.

Without urgent reform addressing the underlying crisis of demand for drugs, the lucrative profits fuelling supply and the poor physical state of our prisons, the prison estate will remain unstable, unsafe and incapable of delivering its rehabilitative purpose.