Prison guards exploited by inmates who become lovers

Rise in female staff during diversity drive seized on by criminals to smuggle contraband into jails

MINISTERS have launched a crackdown on illicit affairs between prison staff and offenders amid a surge in the number of criminals caught exploiting the relationships.

The number of prison staff exposed for inappropriate relationships has increased by 30 per cent since 2017 to more than 40 a year, data released under Freedom of Information show.

Sexual affairs between prison staff and inmates are illegal and the guard could be charged with misconduct in public office.

The problem has grown as female prison staff numbers have risen 27 per cent to 15,000 in the same period. Women now account for 42 per cent of all staff, as part of a diversity drive.

A new unit has been set up, with 20 police officers from regional organised crime units, to identify and prosecute the predatory inmates and the staff they entice to smuggle in drugs, phones and weapons and even to help them run their criminal empires outside jail.

In jail, a phone is worth £1,000 and an egg-sized pack of drugs up to £5,000. Prison staff are being trained to recognise the tactics used to lure them into relationships and with hotlines – including Crimestoppers – that are eliciting up to 60,000 reports a year. These range from staff disclosing potential conflicts of interest to intelligence on suspected drug smuggling and corruption.

Increased external security, with X-ray scanners, sniffer dogs and airport-style baggage checks, also make it more likely that criminals will seek to corrupt staff to ferry in contraband.

The corruption unit caught gang leader Daniel Doran at HMP Risley, Cheshire, who had struck up a relationship with a prison nurse to get her to smuggle in ketamine while he used her home to store drugs for the multimillion pound cocaine ring he ran.

Doran’s scam unravelled after surveillance uncovered his relationship with Megan Woodham and one of his associates was stopped with 10kg of cocaine worth nearly £1million.

Woodham was jailed for six years, and the gang for a total of 36 years.

It follows the jailing of three female guards at the same jail for having affairs with inmates. In less than four years, the three officers, at HMP Berwyn near Wrexham, were caught sending explicit photographs, having sex in cells and exchanging intimate phone calls.

Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, said the Government would never tolerate officers who undermined the majority of staff who were “nothing short of heroes” for their “extremely tough and demanding jobs day in, day out”.

“Our bolstered Counter Corruption Team is working around the clock to root out and clamp down on those who undermine our exemplary service with their dangerous behaviour and ensure they face the strongest possible consequences for their crimes,” he said.

The team has grown from 26 to 140 staff in a £125million investment in prison security. On top of the “several hundred” investigations into suspect staff and prisoners prompted by the 60,000 pieces of intelligence, it also aims to prevent staff engaging in corrupt behaviour by training them to spot the tell-tale tactics.

Prisoners seeking to groom officers will target their weaknesses, whether personal such as debts, situational such as inexperience, or organisational if there is weak prison leadership.

The criminal often tries to isolate the officer, making them feel they have a greater affinity with them than prison staff.

“It starts with the blurring of boundaries, small requests around being out of the cell for a bit longer or an extra breakfast pack,” said a source.