Staff Jails struggle amid exodus to 'less stressful' Border Force

Prisons near ports and airports are struggling to keep roles filled because so many staff are leaving for "less stressful" jobs in the Border Force.

- Helen Pidd and Rajeev Syal

Younger members of staff are also quitting because they do not like being without their mobile phones all day, senior prison officers say.

Staff retention is a huge problem in the Prison Service. Forty-seven per cent of officers who left the service last year had been in the role for less than three years, and 25% left after less than a year.

Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons, said institutions in southeast England were under pressure to retain staff because of recruitment drives by the Border Force and police.

Around 10,000 people work for the Border Force, with most in frontline roles at airports and seaports across the UK and overseas.

In 2020, the government said it was spending £10m to recruit about 500 more personnel in preparation for post-Brexit border controls.