Masses of jail personnel were caught smuggling medication, weapons and cellphones into jails, in keeping with the Observer.
A Freedom Of Knowledge request by the paper found that 341 team of workers in England and Wales were brushed aside, excluded, convicted or advised by way of police in the past six years as a outcome.
Final 12 months, there were 71 circumstances of body of workers smuggling – up from 50 in 2015.
The prison provider says the figures reflect the movements of a tiny minority.
The reaction to the Observer’s FoI request confirmed that it used to be not only jail officers sneaking within the pieces, but in addition medical examiners, trainers and other support team of workers.
Symbol copyright EPA Image caption Medicine, reminiscent of spice, had been smuggled in by prison personnel
The POA warned of personnel shortages earlier this year, pronouncing it had lost in excess of 7,000 frontline personnel on account that 2010 – in spite of a up to date push to recruit 2,500 officers.
A record via the HM Inspectorate of Prisons in July discovered that staff shortages at Wandsworth Jail in south-west London intended guests weren’t routinely scanned.
A spokesman for the jail carrier from the Ministry of Justice mentioned: “the overwhelming majority of our jail staff are exhausting-running and fair.
“However we remain vigilant to the risk posed via corruption and wrongdoing of a very small number of our staff.”
Ambulance call-outs
Meanwhile, in a separate FOI request, the Sunday Telegraph has found that 999 calls to prisons have nearly doubled in the prior three years.
More than 12,200 name-outs have been made final yr, compared to 6,677 in 2013-14.
A POA spokesman said the figures showed the “actual issues and demanding situations” resulting from inmates taking new psychoactive components, corresponding to Spice.
the federal government mentioned it was once investing £14m each year to stop the criminals answerable for trading the drug.