ARE members of the government taking mind-altering substances? I only ask, because one of their latest wheezes appears to be the product of a drug induced haze. The Ministry of Justice is releasing up to £3 million for the creation of a new specialist squad to stop drones flying drugs, phones and other contraband into prisons.
There’s no doubt that our prisons are awash with drugs, but I suspect that only an infinitesimally small number are actually being flown in. I imagine the bigger and frankly more urgent problems are stuff coming in via visitors, the post and corrupt staff. Therefore, as critics of the plan suggest, perhaps it is designed to take our attention away from the real problems of our chaotic prison system.
In any case, instead of spending millions on a drone taskforce, just get guards to look out the window. Surely, it can’t be that difficult to spot a remote-controlled flying device with a bag of smack or a sack of mobiles dangling from it.
