Prisoners able to phone victims from their cells

Victims were at risk of being contacted by prisoners from jail due to serious failings, a watchdog has warned.

A report on HMP High Down said public protection assessments to determine whether mail and phone call monitoring was needed were not routinely completed for new arrivals.

“This meant that some prisoners who presented a risk to people in the community did not have these restrictions applied, enabling them to contact victims without the fear of being detected,” the assessment said.

High Down is one of about 20 state-run prisons to have introduced in-cell telephones.