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The Prison Service is “beefing up” a cadre of officers dedicated to smashing gangs in prisons in the face of escalating drone use and drug-related violence.
Of more than 87,000 prisoners in December 2023, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) estimated that more than one in 10 (10.6%) were involved in organised crime.
The chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, accused the police and prison service this month of ceding control of the airspace above two category A jails: HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire.
Timpson said: “Yes. It has been a serious problem for some time. It is very connected with serious organised crime. That means it is very connected with drugs. That means it is very connected with debt. That means it is very connected with violence.”
There were 1,296 drone incidents at prisons in England and Wales in the 10 months to the end of October 2024, a tenfold increase since 2020.
A record 165 prison staff were sacked for misconduct in the year to June 2024, according to HMPPS. Some of the reasons for these dismissals include sex acts and other inappropriate behaviour with inmates, as well as selling drugs and phones. Timpson also acknowledged that there was a “small minority” of prison officers who had become involved with criminal gangs.
Source, text, photo – The Guardian
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