Inmates ‘allowed to phone victims from cells’
DANGEROUS prisoners were able to contact victims from their cells because of lax prison security, a damning report has revealed.
inspectors said inmates were left in a position where they could get in touch with vulnerable individuals by phone calls and letters.
Watchdogs warned of ‘serious failings’ at hMP high Down, a Category B jail. Security was so poor that staff were failing to place restrictions on who inmates were allowed to write to or call.
Concerns were raised at the prospect of terrified victims and witnesses being intimidated by prisoners from behind bars – potentially leading to crooks walking free. At least one ‘high-risk’ prisoner contacted a vulnerable person in the community. it is not known how many others did the same.
Under the current rules, prison officers are meant to assess the need for inmates’ letters and calls to be monitored. if there is a risk to anyone in the community, restrictions are placed on who a prisoner can contact.
During a visit to high Down in Banstead, Surrey, in May, hM inspectorate of Prisons found the sys- tem had collapsed. the report said: ‘Public protection work was significantly undermined by the lack of assessment for mail and telephone monitoring, and this presented an unacceptable risk.’
it added: ‘Some prisoners who presented a risk to people in the community did not have restrictions applied, enabling them to contact victims or potential victims without the fear of being detected.
‘One high-risk prisoner who should have had his letters monitored had been missed over recent weeks and there was evidence of him regularly contacting a vulnerable person in the community.’
Liberal Democrat MP Sir Ed Davey said: ‘One alarming implication is that this thuggish intimidation might potentially lead to guilty criminals walking free. Ministers have got to get a grip.’
Michael Spurr, of the Prison and Probation Service, said high Down had been given a ‘significant influx of new staff’ and this would help ensure ‘all public protection work is done to a high standard’.
‘Ministers have got to get a grip’