Corruption inside prisons is now “a greater problem than it has ever been,” according to John Podmore, a former governor of several large prisons, including HMP Belmarsh and HMP Brixton, both in London. He oversaw the prison service’s Corruption Prevention Unit and the London Prison’s Anti-corruption Team.
“There is a perfect storm of young inexperienced staff with poor vetting and inadequate training being thrown into a dystopian environment,” Mr Podmore says, “where violence and organised crime dominate a failing prison system.”
He estimates the value of drugs traded across the prison estate each year is in excess of £1bn.
No specific qualifications are needed to become a prison officer in England and Wales.
On its website, HMPPS states new recruits will be given a 10-day induction, which includes finding out about prison life and being shown basic security processes.
This is followed by a seven-week training programme, during which trainees are taught how to look after people in custody and de-escalate challenging situations.
Mr Podmore describes this training as “totally inadequate”, and “the worst and shortest of any jurisdiction I have observed over five continents”.
“The vast majority of officers are corrupted as a result of conditioning, manipulation, coercion and blackmail, while being badly trained, poorly led and inadequately supervised,” he adds.
