It’s time to get ruff! Jails take on extra sniffer dogs that can root out drugs and even mobile phones in crackdown on inmates
- Prisons minister Lucy Frazer announced investment as part of £100m package
- The 176 additional dogs will increase the overall number in jails to more than 800
- Dogs capable of detecting drugs and contraband phones by detecting lithium
More than 170 specially-trained sniffer dogs are being deployed to jails in the war on drugs and contraband.
Prisons minister Lucy Frazer announced the investment as part of a £100million package to bolster security.
The 176 additional dogs – capable of detecting heroin, cocaine, cannabis and the ‘zombie’ drug spice – will increase the overall number in jails by nearly one third to more than 800.
More than 170 specially-trained sniffer dogs are being deployed to jails in the war on drugs and contraband (pictured, handler Mandy Parrish and springer spaniel Molly)
They can even sniff out contraband mobile phones – which are banned in jails – by detecting lithium in the devices’ rechargeable batteries, and track down illegal home-brewed alcohol, or ‘hooch’.
‘The dogs have already made an immense difference,’ said Katie Price, governor of HMP The Mount, in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, which is getting eight new dogs and four handlers.
‘They are working closely with my security team, and provide an extra line of defence for us,’ she added.
The animals can even smell contraband if it has been hidden inside a body cavity in a bid to smuggle it into the 1,000-inmate category C jail, she added.
Search dog handler Nick Hayes, who works with three-year-old labrador Monty, said: ‘The interaction I have with prisoners is pretty positive.
‘They understand we are here to keep them safer and, of course, not all prisoners take drugs.
The 176 additional dogs – capable of detecting heroin and cocaine – will increase the overall number in jails by nearly one third to more than 800 (pictured, sniffer dog Finnegan during training)
‘So these dogs play a major role in frontline security in jails. They’re a very, very useful tool.
‘Monty has already led to several arrests of visitors with contraband. He’s a very thorough dog and he’s got quite a good nose.’
In the last year more than 2,200 illegal items, including over 100 kilograms of drugs such as heroin, cannabis and spice, have been detected by sniffer dogs already working in the prison service.
More than 50 prisons across England will receive their new search teams by March.
Prisons minister Miss Frazer said: ‘The smuggling of contraband into prisons puts hardworking staff at risk and undermines attempts to rehabilitate offenders.
‘These dogs and their handlers will make prisons safer, more secure and ultimately better environments for rehabilitation.’
Prison service official Kevin Reilly said: ‘We think this is going to have a very significant impact on our ability to stop drugs supply.
‘They are definitely a deterrent and it would be great to have dog coverage everywhere, so everyone who comes into a prison… is checked.’