HMP Durham inmates make drugs with shower gel and toothpaste

Overcrowding, increased violence, self harm incidents and a growing drug market are just some of the conditions continually faced by the 974 prisoners housed at HMP Durham, say the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB).

Inspectors have rated the prison as "requires improvement" and say HMP Durham faces "major challenges". The IMB based their final report on findings from November 2023 and October 2024.

Inside HMP Durham. (Image: HMP INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS) The 70 page document goes into detail about a number of aspects of prison life from safety to meals, healthcare and staffs' relationship with prisoners.

However, while the prison was commended for its dedicated staff, issues with drugs, violence and overcrowding remain - despite the fact a HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) raised many of the same issues in August 2024. 

In the new IMB report, they revealed that prisoners are using cleaning materials and "everyday items" including toothpaste and shower gel to make a substance known as 'spice'.

The homemade drug is said to have an adverse effect on prisoners, making their behaviour "aggressive and volatile" - increasing violence in the prison overall.

The yard at HMP Durham. (Image: HMP INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS) Similar sentiments were raised by the HMIP report last year, that discovered a "thriving illicit drugs market" - but it is understood the prison is cracking down on supply.

The IMB report reads: "From the board’s observations, it is curtailing the flow of drugs into the prison.

"But demand does not wane, so debt continues, which leads to increases in levels of violence, use of force and self-harm.

"The safer custody team has developed a debt support plan for prisoners."

Another issue picked up by the IMB, which had also been raised before, was overcrowding - as the board concluded they are being given "no hope of improvement".

HMP Durham, opened in 1819, has an ideal maximum population of 561 - but the average population for the reporting year was 974.

This means that 90 per cent of cells originally designed for one prisoner now house two, and many are spending 22 hours or more each day in their cells - a finding first raised by HMIP in 2024.

A two person cell at HMP Durham. (Image: HMP INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS) They wrote: "The board has raised, annually, concerns about the levels of overcrowding and its impact on the dignity of prisoners, but we have received answers offering no hope of improvement.

"The board is satisfied that all cells meet the minimum statutory requirements , but accommodation is largely pre-Victorian, overcrowded and generally unacceptable in 2023.

"Cells provide minimal separation (and, in some cases, none) between a person’s toilet, sleeping and eating space.

"This is unhygienic and undignified, especially where two people are required to share a cell. It offers minimal to no privacy for using the toilet.

F-wing at HMP Durham. (Image: HIS MAJESTY'S INSPECTORATE OF PRISONS) "The board accepts that, given most of the prison dates to 1819, it is limited in what it can do to modernise its facilities."

Some of the other watchdog findings were that prisoner-on-prisoner and prisoner-on-staff assaults increased year on year by 52 per cent to a total of 517 in that reporting year - something the watchdog says it will continue to monitor.

Presenting the report, IMB durham chair, Dr Therese Quincey, said:  "As a remand and resettlement prison, HMP Durham presents a number of major challenges for the governor and all staff, including rising levels of violence, self-harm and drug use.

"High levels of prison occupancy, combined with continuous arrivals and departures, compound the challenge.

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"Even in the light of some negative findings; from the board’s observations, we believe that the governor and staff perform their duties with dedication and are committed to reach required standards."

When asked to comment on the report, a Ministry of Justice (MOJ) spokesperson said: "This government inherited a prison system in crisis – overcrowded, with drugs and violence rife – and we fully acknowledge the challenges at HMP Durham.

"We are taking action against these, including through drug detection dogs and x-ray scanners which help clamp down on the contraband that fuels violence in prisons."