Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by Philip Davies (Conservative) on Wednesday, 10 February 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 February 2010. It was answered by Maria Eagle (Labour) on Tuesday, 23 February 2010 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisons: Dogs

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) passive and (b) active dogs there are in each prison in England and Wales; and on what basis they are distributed.
Answer

Allocation of drug detection dogs around the estate is decided on a regional basis, according to need. The profile is not static. In some regions there is a regional pool of dogs and handlers, moving from prison to prison as required. In other regions dogs and handlers are allocated to and permanently based in individual prisons as required.As of October 2009 the Prison Service had 216 active drug dogs and 204 passive drug dogs in prisons, allocated as follows:

Number
Prison Active drug dogs Passive drug dogs
Acklington 2 1
Ashfield 0 1
Ashwell 1 1
Aylesbury 1 0
Bedford 2 2
Belmarsh 4 2
Birmingham 4 2
Blantyre House 0 0
Blundeston 2 2
Brinsford 2 2
Bristol 2 2
Brixton 2 2
Bronzefield 1 1
Bullingdon 2 2
Bullwood Hall 0 0
Canterbury 0 0
Cardiff 1 1
Castington 2 2
Channings Wood 2 2
Chelmsford 3 2
Coldingley 2 2
Cookham Wood 0 0
Dartmoor 2 2
Deerbolt 2 2
Dorchester 2 2
Dovegate 1 3
Downview 1 1
Drake Hall 0 1
Durham 4 4
East Sutton Park 0 0
Eastwood Park 2 2
Edmunds Hill 2 2
Elmley 0 0
Erlestoke 2 1
Exeter 2 2
Featherstone 1 1
Feltham 1 1
Ford 1 1
Foston Hall 1 1
Frankland 3 3
Full Sutton 3 4
Gartree 2 2
Glen Parva 2 2
Gloucester 2 2
Grendon 2 2
Guys Marsh 0 0
Hewell 6 6
Highdown 2 2
Highpoint 4 4
Hollesley Bay 1 1
Holloway 2 2
Holme House 2 2
Huntercombe 0 0
Isle of Wight 6 5
Kingston 2 2
Latchmere House 0 0
Leicester 2 2
Lewes 2 1
Leyhill 4 2
Lincoln 1 1
Littlehay 2 2
Long Lartin 5 5
Low Newton 1 1
Lowdham Grange 1 1
Maidstone 1 1
Manchester 4 3
Morton Hall 1 1
North Sea Camp 1 1
North West Area Search Team¹ 14 13
Norwich 3 3
Nottingham 2 2
Onley 1 1
Parc 1 1
Pentonville 3 3
Peterborough 2 2
Portland 2 1
Ranby 2 2
Reading 1 1
Rochester 2 2
Rye Hill 2 1
Send 1 1
Shepton Mallet 1 1
Shrewsbury 2 1
Springhill 0 0
Stafford 2 2
Standford Hill 1 0
Stocken 4 4
Stoke Heath 2 2
Sudbury 2 2
Swaleside 2 2
Swansea 1 1
Swinfen Hall 1 1
The Mount 3 3
The Verne 1 1
Usk/Prescoed 0 0
Wakefield 3 4
Wandsworth 3 3
Warren Hill 1 1
Wayland 3 4
Wellingborough 2 2
Werrington 0 0
Wharton 1 1
Whitemoor 4 4
Winchester 1 2
Woodhill 4 3
Wormwood Scrubs 2 2
Yorkshire and Humber Area Search Team² 11 10
Total 216 204
¹ The North West Area Search Team covers the following prisons: Altcourse, Buckley Hall, Forest Bank, Garth, Haverigg, Hindley, Kennet, Kirkham, Lancaster Castle/Farms, Liverpool, Preston, Risley, Styal, Thorn Cross and Wymott. ² The Yorkshire and Humber Area Search Team covers the following prisons: Askham Grange, Doncaster, Everthorpe, Hull, Leeds, Lindholme, Moorlands, New Hall, Northallerton, Wealstun, Wetherby and Wolds.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
506 c510-2W; 317400
Session
2009-10
Subjects
Dogs Prisons
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk