The number of prison officers investigated for inappropriate relationships with inmates has almost tripled in five years, The Independent can reveal.
New figures from prisons in England and Wales have revealed a surge in staff investigated for corruption, with those probed for relationships with prisoners up from 51 in 2020 to 144 last year.
Experts have warned that instances of staff wrongdoing are escalating because “teenagers with no work experience beyond Saturday jobs” are being recruited to some of the most challenging prisons in the country amid a recruitment and retention crisis in overcrowded jails.
Only 30 of the prison officers probed for inappropriate relationships in 2024 faced sanctions classed as “management or above outcomes”, which include criminal charges, dismissal, transfers, formal warnings or regradings.
The number of prison officers investigated for sneaking contraband into jails was also up 86 per cent in the same five-year period, according to figures obtained by The Independent via a freedom of information request. This can include items such as drugs and mobile phones.
It comes as the former governor of HMP Kirkham, Lancashire, last week found herself on the other side of the prison bars as she was jailed for nine years for a relationship with a drug gang boss known to his criminal associates as “Jesse Pinkman” from the hit TV series Breaking Bad.
Kerri Pegg, 42, signed off on temporary release for her lover Anthony Saunderson, who is serving a 35-year term, and accepted a £12,000 Mercedes from him, paid for with 34kg of amphetamines.
A week earlier, senior prisoner officer Tracey Boateng was handed a 12-month suspended sentence after engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a drug dealer inside HMP Pentonville, north London.
The 27-year-old, who had joined the prison service through a graduate scheme in 2020, was filmed kissing and hugging the prisoner during their “fairytale” relationship between February and April last year.
In January, Linda De Sousa Abreu was jailed for 15 months after she was filmed having sex with an inmate inside HMP Wandsworth just five months after she was recruited.
Footage of the encounter, filmed by another inmate, was posted on X and went viral, leading to other female officers at the prison being subjected to sexual approaches and being seen as “fair game”.
Tom Wheatley, the chair of the Prison Governors’ Association, said the rise was a “concern” for prison governors.
“These increases are driven, in part, by HMPPS [His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service] inability to retain staff, which means that they are permanently recruiting,” he said.
“This increases the risk that the wrong people will be recruited and that staff will have to work in an environment where they have few experienced staff to guide them and where they are facing sophisticated prisoners prepared to use violence and intimidation to get what they want.
“Investment is needed in recruitment but also in pay in order to improve retention and build confidence and competence.”
Less than a quarter of band 3 to 5 prison officers have more than 10 years’ experience, according to HMPPS figures, while almost 40 per cent have been in the job for under three years.
Dr Bronwen Frow-Jones, of Cardiff University, has carried out independent research into prison officer wrongdoing.
She agreed recruitment, vetting and training of prison officers, which is carried out centrally rather than by individual prisons, is “completely inadequate”.
“Teenagers with no work experience beyond Saturday jobs are being recruited and, after eight weeks training at college, can find themselves working in some of the most challenging prisons in the country,” she told The Independent.
She believes the most effective way to reduce instances of staff corruption is to improve training and ensure officers feel safe to report problems, noting even minor infractions of professional boundaries can eventually lead to serious wrongdoing.
She added: “There needs to be increased understanding why some prison officers decide to risk their jobs, their reputations and their freedom through engaging in corrupt activities.
“The prisoners who are probably the most influential in the establishment for dealing drugs and phones tend to get on with staff the most. They get themselves into those positions where they can gain the trust of staff with a view to violating professional boundaries.”
Mark Fairhurst, the national chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, warned that corrupt staff place others at risk.
“A lack of adequate vetting, coupled with unfit for purpose recruitment processes and initial training that does not prepare new recruits for the reality of the role, all contribute to corruption,” he said.
“Inexperienced staff will always be at risk of conditioning from experienced prisoners.
“Thankfully, the majority of officers are decent, honest, professional public servants, and the employer is taking this threat seriously and continues to target individuals who should never wear the King’s uniform.”
A Prison Service spokesperson said: “While most prison staff are honest, we are catching more of the minority who break the rules through our Counter-Corruption Unit and stronger vetting.
“Where officers fall below our high standards, we do not hesitate to take robust action.”
