THERE is an ongoing battle to stamp out drug smuggling at Dartmoor Prison, which together with the illegal brewing of alcohol has become a major problem, according to a new report.

The Independent Monitoring Board for HMP Dartmoor said cell searches and drug testing had played their part in reducing the amount of drugs in the prison — but prisoners were still able to obtain illegal drugs and prescription drugs for personal use and to trade.

Substances were being thrown over the prison wall until grills were placed on the wing windows, said the report.

The dog handler was successful on two occasions in intercepting a quantity of drugs and mobile phones that were being thrown into the prison over the wall.

The board highlighted the jail's strong leadership, safety and low violence rates, but has raised issues over space and resources in its latest report to the Ministry of Justice. The population of the category C prison is 659 adult male prisoners.

The board said it was disappointed some of the issues raised in last year's report had not been significantly improved, such as the shortage of work places and concerns about the provision of healthcare.

But it was pleased that the senior management team had provided strong direction, leading to increased stability within the prison. It stated HMP Dartmoor was a safe prison with low rates of violence and the continuing development of the diversity centre and imaginative initiatives within the resettlement unit was good.

The welcoming atmosphere for families and the positive response to the Inspectorate of Prisons inspection in November 2011 was also praised.

As well as concerns about drugs, the report highlighted a number of other issues, including some prisoners being required to double up in single cells, and delays in essential refurbishment work to the fabric of the building.

The report said the 16 cells used for single occupancy were consistently used for two prisoners and this was not acceptable.

The prisoner transfer process sometimes took little account of the individual's healthcare or sentence planning requirements and an increasing proportion of vulnerable prisoners was placing extra demands on prison resources.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: 'The report by the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Dartmoor, in particular the concerns highlighted by them, will be fully considered by ministers and we will respond in due course. 

'We are determined to reduce re-offending and rehabilitate offenders by providing them with opportunities to gain the necessary skills to help find employment on release, and hopefully to turn away from a life of crime.

'Comments by the IMB regarding the development of the diversity centre and also the development of purposeful outdoor activity are therefore welcome and demonstrate the prison is moving forward.'