Breaking the cycle of drugs, debt and violence in prisons | Letters

John Podmore calls for consistent leadership, clear accountability and purposeful regimes, while Enver Solomon says drugs flourish in conditions shaped by staff shortages and a lack of meaningful activity Your leader on drugs in prisons (16 April) is right about the scale of the crisis, but wrong to suggest the chief inspector has only recently found his voice. Charlie Taylor has been consistent throughout: the prison system is failing by almost every meaningful measure. This is not just about money or overcrowding. It is about leadership, culture and accountability. A system under pressure can still be well led; too often ours is not. The churn of secretaries of state has compounded this, while within the service “lacklustre” performance is too often absorbed rather than challenged – and, in some cases, still rewarded. The scale of the drugs economy alone should sharpen minds. On the inspectorate’s own figures for ease of access and prevalence, even a conservative assessment suggests a prison drugs market worth in the region of £1bn annually. That is not victimless: the burden falls heavily on prisoners’ families, who are frequently coerced, indebted or drawn into sustaining it. I