Organised crime gangs 'sending recruits to train as prison officers'

Organised crime groups are sending associates to train as prison officers with the "sole purpose" of smuggling drugs and phones into jail, the Prison Officers' Association warned.

- Helen Pidd, Rajeev Syal

The POA, the prison workers' union, blamed low pay and a cut in the time it takes to train an officer down to seven weeks from 10 weeks - for the growing evidence of corruption. It said online job interviews were also contributing to the service "hiring the wrong people".

Drugs remain a huge problem in prisons despite an increase in testing facilities. Woodhill high-security prison was put into special measures recently after inspectors declared the establishment unsafe, with 38% of prisoners testing positive for drugs.

"Organised crime groups realise there's a lot of money to be made by smuggling contraband into prisons. People can be recruited as officers and go into [the jail] with that sole purpose of bringing contraband in, to make a lot of money. They can do it by themselves or for organised crime groups," a POA spokesperson said.

The shortened training time provided an incentive for corruption, the spokesperson said.