HM Inspectorate of Prisons says drones are helping to sustain a "thriving drugs market" at HMP Highpoint, where random tests returned a 28% positive rate for illegal substances. Inspectors highlighted a 43% rise in serious assaults and the January death of inmate Krishan Rawal. They found shortages of teachers and instructors have kept workshops and classrooms closed, and an April fire — treated as suspicious — disrupted regimes. The chief inspector urged urgent steps to stop drone deliveries, introduce a comprehensive drugs strategy and expand purposeful activity for prisoners.
Drones Fuel a 'Thriving' Drugs Market at HMP Highpoint, Inspectors Warn
The chief inspector of prisons says Highpoint must do more to reduce its vulnerability to drones like the one pictured [Getty Images]
Inspectors have urged urgent action after finding that drones are helping to sustain a "thriving drugs market" at HMP Highpoint, where a high proportion of inmates tested positive for illegal substances.
Inspection Findings
A report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that Highpoint, a category C men's prison near Haverhill, Suffolk, is "generally well run" but faces "serious challenges" around drugs, violence and access to education. The jail holds about 1,100 men and is due to expand with new accommodation over the next two years, which will make it the largest public-sector prison in England and Wales when completed.
Inspectors reported that random drug tests produced a 28% positive rate and described a "thriving drugs market". They criticised the absence of a comprehensive drug-reduction strategy at the prison and said the wider prison service had not sufficiently protected the "large, open site" from aerial deliveries by drones.
HMP Highpoint currently has about 1,100 inmates and capacity is set to increase [Google Maps]
How Drugs Are Entering the Site
Inspectors observed that prisoners had cut holes in security grilles to retrieve "often large packages" dropped into the estate, and staff frequently detected the smell of cannabis across the site. The report linked limited purposeful activity to increased substance misuse among inmates.
Violence, Death and Disruption
The inspection flagged a worrying 43% rise in the rate of serious assaults following the June visit. The findings come after the death in January of 28-year-old inmate Krishan Rawal, who died after an assault at HMP Highpoint.
The prison was again rated "poor" for providing meaningful work and purposeful activity. Workshops and classrooms were often closed because of shortages of teachers and instructors — a shortfall inspectors said was likely contributing to widespread drug use.
A fire at the prison in April was treated as "suspicious" [Jamie Niblock/BBC]
A serious fire in April led to the closure of one residential block, disrupting some prisoners' progression to a more open regime; that fire is being treated as suspicious.
Staff Effort and Praise
Inspectors praised the governor as an experienced and effective leader who maintained very clean and well‑kept cells and communal areas. They also commended staff development and engagement, a supportive approach to new prisoners, and an "innovative" dental service operating in the jail.
The offender management unit was singled out for working long hours to complete sentence recalculations in preparation for early releases.
Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons: "With the impending growth in the population, the prison service must do more to reduce Highpoint's vulnerability to drones and the leaders at the jail will need to develop a drugs strategy that reduces both supply and demand. Much of this will be achieved by providing sufficient, high-quality purposeful activity."
Next Steps
Inspectors called for urgent measures to protect the site from drone deliveries, a comprehensive drugs-reduction strategy addressing both supply and demand, and increased provision of meaningful education and work to reduce idle time and the incentives for drug use.
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