Contraband items brought by staff into UK prisons on the rise

Over the last six years, the number of staff found transferring contraband items into prisons, has risen by 57% in England and Wales. These items include mobile phones, weapons and drugs.

In 2014 alone, 6,000 packages and 10,000 phones were seized.

Contraband items are goods that have been imported or exported illegally.

In the same six-year period, a total of 341 members of staff were dismissed, convicted, cautioned by the police or excluded.

In 2012 there were 45 cases of contraband items being smuggled in by prison staff members. In 2017, there were 71 cases.

Back in 2014, Philip Finselbach, a cookery instructor at Parc Prison, Bridgend, smuggled heroin and a mobile phone was given a six-year sentence.

The reasoning behind this rise could be due to serious staff shortages in UK jails meaning that security checks for staff can be insufficient. Recent figures state that there are 6,800 fewer operational staff currently working in UK prisons than in 2010.

Perhaps the replacement of older, more experienced officers for younger, more naive and susceptible officers is another factor in the rise.

Of course, there is the element of money, and with the possibility to double an officer's salary, some staff members could be tempted to break the law and bring in contraband items.

This is no doubt a serious problem for the service, however, to say that the majority of police officers are involved with this type of corruption is incorrect. More advanced checks are required to prevent a further rise of smuggling, this can be achieved by an improved amount of officers brought into the service and more technological assistance with security checks.