Prisoner's hands gripping the bars of a cell in jail (Image: Getty)
Nearly 161 prison staff have been arrested since 2020 on suspicion of supplying drugs in jails, the Express can reveal.
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Forty seven arrests were made for supplying drugs in prisons in 2023, compared to 37 the previous year and 43 in 2021 and 34 in 2020.
But there has been a 162% increase in prison officers being investigated for drug smuggling in the past four years.
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The number has risen to 435 in 2023 from 268 in 2020, figures obtained by Labour show.
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Meanwhile 720 prison staff were investigated last year, a rise from 448 four years ago - an increase of 160%.
Mick Pimblett, assistant general secretary of the Union for Prison, Correctional and Secure Psychiatric Workers, said: “The vast majority of Prison staff are hardworking, conscientious and honest.
“However, this Union acknowledges that there are a small number of corrupt staff working in our Prisons who undermine others’ work by being corrupt.
“Their corruption compromises their colleagues, the security of the establishment and themselves and makes them susceptible to blackmail and criminal activity.
“There may be reasons for the increase in corrupt staff such as poor recruitment and lack of training, but at the end of day these staff must recognise what is right and what is wrong. It is very difficult to have any sympathy for them.
“It is right and correct that these corrupt staff who put themselves into such situations are weeded out and placed before the courts and it is right that dismissal from employment should be the default position for someone found to be corrupt.”
Former prison officer Heather McKenzie, who was caught smuggling Class A drugs into a top security jail, was jailed for six years and three months last year.
She secretly ferried cocaine and mobile phones into Shotts Prison in Lanarkshire.
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But her illicit scheme was uncovered when police and prison services became suspicious about the growing number of drugs found in cells.
Prison officer Peter Hughes was caught on CCTV taking a "bulging holdall" filled with drugs into cells at HMP Liverpool.
He was seen carrying the bag just before his shift began on 25 April 2020 and leaving 20 seconds after with an empty bag.
Hughes was arrested at his home days later and jailed for four years.
Ruth Cadbury MP, Shadow Prisons Minister said: “These findings show a significant increase in the number of prison officers investigated for bringing drugs into prison.
‘‘These drugs fuel violence and disorder in our prisons and help fund organised crime gangs who are getting rich off this disorder.
‘‘The Government have sat on their hands as this crisis has unfurled on their watch and as disorder has spread across our prison estate. They’ve failed to tackle either the supply or the increased demand for drugs in prisons.”
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A Prison Service spokesman said: “The vast majority of our staff are dedicated, honest and hard-working.
“But the small number who break the rules should know our Counter-Corruption Unit will find them and ensure they face the full force of the law.”
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