Rampant phone trade in youth jail
St Patrick’s Institution, which caters for 17 to 21-year-olds, tops the table for seizures of mobile phones so far this year — even outstripping Mountjoy Prison.
Official figures show seizures in St Pat’s have risen sharply in recent years — while seizures in all other jails have fallen, in many cases dramatically.
The statistics highlight yet again serious security issues at the prison. These issues form part of a major review of security under way in the troubled institution.
Previous revelations in the Irish Examiner have shown St Pat’s is the most violent institution in the country — with more assaults, both between prisoners and on staff, and more inmates on protection than any other institution.
A subsequent bombshell report by the Inspector of Prisons exposed excessive use of force and bullying by some staff against prisoners, as well as forced stripping of inmates and poor investigation of complaints.
Justice Minister Alan Shatter said the culture in the prison had resulted in the rights of some prisoners (children and young adults) either being “ignored or violated”.
Figures supplied to Labour TD Tommy Broughan provide further evidence of the scale of security problems in the jail.
It shows 252 mobile phones were seized up to Sept 23 this year. This compares to 220 for the whole of last year, which was a massive jump on 2010 (138) and 2009 (121).
The trend is in stark contrast with other prisons — where seizures have dropped, in many cases dramatically.
In Mountjoy, seizures have fallen from 904 in 2009 to 420 in 2011 and to 226 so far this year. In Wheatfield, seizures have dropped from 228 in 2009 to 48 last year and to 17 this year.
The figures are even more stark in the context of the numbers of people sent to those prisons. Last year, 849 inmates were sent to St Pat’s, far fewer than Mountjoy (2,395).
Across all prisons, mobile phone seizures have fallen from 2,174 in 2009 to 1,368 last year, and to 885 so far this year.
Mr Shatter told Mr Broughan that the increased security measures across prisons — including daily searches — have been very effective and that the availability of mobile phones had “decreased across the prison system” with the yearly figures reflecting that drop.
St Pat’s, however, is the exception to that trend.
The Prison Service said additional security measures were underway at St Pat’s, including increased Garda presence outside the prison walls to prevent the throwing of contraband over the walls.
A spokesman said a process was under way to install new nets over the recreation yard to prevent contraband getting in, and that a new chief officer in charge of security is being appointed.
Meanwhile, the Prison Service said St Pat’s would remain a detention centre for 18 to 21-year-olds. This appears to contradict a statement by Mr Shatter that he plans to introduce legislation ending the detention of offenders under 21 at St Pat’s.
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