‘PRISON OFFICERS DEALING DRUGS’
Gangs target jail staff
CROOKED prison officers are making fortunes selling drugs to inmates, it’s been claimed.
Organised gangs are exploiting a justice system “in crisis” to make “millions”.
John Podmore, a former governor, warned the drugs problem in jails is now so great criminals are joining the prison service just to deal to lags.
His claim came after riots at Birmingham and Swaleside prisons, where officials believe drug use contributed to the violence.
Mr Podmore, who was also head of the prison service’s anti-corruption unit, described the trade as a “multimillion pound enterprise”.
He said the system was in crisis and accused the Ministry of Justice of not wanting to accept there was a problem with corrupt officers.
He said: “There will be people who join the prison service because they want to deal drugs. They can make a lot of money out of it.
“I’m in no doubt the prison system is in crisis. Things are getting worse and something needs to be done.
“The prison service is reluctant to acknowledge that there is a problem (with corruption) because it shouldn’t happen.
“But it does, partly because drugs is a multi-million pound enterprise and there are people inside and outside prison making a lot of money.”
Critics say staff shortages, low pay PATRICK WILLIAMS and overcrowding has made it easier for gangs to target officers.
They say drugs and weapons allegedly brought in by corrupt staff have led to violence.
Mr Podmore said corruption begins with officers being manipulated by inmates who ask for favours such as bringing them soap or shower gel.
He said: “It runs on from there and then you are hooked. You are only corrupted once.”
The biggest drugs haul he saw in his 25-year career was strapped to the legs of a prison officer.
He told the Radio 4 documentary The Prison Problem: “He could barely walk for the amount of drugs which were on him.
“He was arrested by the police and the following day they told me he had been a prisoner in Wormwood Scrubs three years ago. Then we discovered he was an illegal immigrant.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman told us: “The vast majority of our prison staff are hard-working and honest, and the small minority who involve themselves in corruption face the full force of the law.
“We recently set out a range of measures to help tackle this issue, including a new £3million intelligence unit, and we are developing a corruption strategy. We are also considering creating a prison-specific offence of corruption.”