Inmates at Westgate Correctional Facility are “relentless” in their pursuit of illegal drugs and other forms of contraband, according to Commissioner of Corrections Edward Lamb.

Colonel Lamb spoke after the Department of Corrections revealed that the seizure of suspected drugs increased significantly at the Sandys jail last year — with 83 items taken between January and June, more than the entire hauls of both 2013 (42 items) and 2014 (71 items). Russ Ford, who worked as a nurse in Bermuda’s prison system for 23 years, suggested that boredom and a desire to escape reality propelled inmates towards drugs.

The ten-year list of contraband statistics — obtained by The Royal Gazette via a Public Access to Information Act (Pati) request — showed that mobile phone smuggling also remained a problem, with 496 handsets captured by officers between 2012 and last June. Other common items found included alcohol, jewellery, tobacco and assorted electronics.

Colonel Lamb told this newspaper that intercepting unlawful items was “a constant battle that we fight within a corrections environment”. “Inmates are relentless in their schemes to smuggle contraband into prison facilities,” said Colonel Lamb, while praising his staff members for their diligence in tackling the problem.

He added that officers had caught inmates’ family members trying to sneak in assorted materials on multiple occasions.

“That, sadly, is a reality,” he said.

Most of the suspected drugs confiscated are in relatively small quantities, Colonel Lamb said.

“However, any amount of contraband in a prison setting is a security risk, and therefore we apportion the necessary attention to this matter,” he added. Mr Ford, who now works as a senior probation officer, said that drug use in prison — and, conversely, their lack of availability — could turn inmates erratic and violent.

“The bottom line is that many of these people are bored, so they’re going to find all different ways to occupy their time,” he said. “People will go to any degree to feel better or escape their current reality.

“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop. That’s why we have to keep these guys very busy and involved in positive activities that help them grow and improve their lives.”

Mr Ford acknowledged the difficulty that officers faced when inmates were intent on smuggling contraband items into prison. “They must always be vigilant and help protect the prison population,” he said. “It can be quite a challenge.”

He added that drug use in jail was a problem prevalent throughout the world.

“Bermuda does a very good job in terms of curtailing the number of drugs going into prison,” Mr Ford added.