100 million pounds to be invested in prison security
Prison security will be boosted by a £100 million investment as part of a crackdown on crime behind bars.
The Government says investment will target all types of crime in prison; from drug smugglers fuelling a rise in violence and self-harm, to gang kingpins continuing to run their operations from jail, to offenders seeking to contact their victims in the outside world.
Tough airport-style security, including X-ray scanners and metal detectors, will be put into prisons across the estate to clamp down on the drugs, weapons and mobile phones that increase the risk to our officers and hinder rehabilitation.
Cutting-edge technology to detect and block mobile phones will be brought in to better identify and stop those who seek to organise drug supply or harass victims from the prison wings.
The new funding will bolster efforts to tackle corruption, improving intelligence analysis and strengthening the Counter Corruption Unit that roots out the small minority of dishonest staff and the criminals who seek to manipulate them.
In combination with the 4,700 additional officers who have been recruited since late 2016, this investment can have a major impact on crime behind bars. Without phones and access to drugs, criminal networks will be severely hindered, prison officers will be protected, and ultimately the public will be safer.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We cannot allow our prisons to become factories for making bad people worse.
"We will stop the drugs, weapons and the mobile phones coming in, so we can safeguard victims, protect staff, cut violence and make our prisons properly equipped to reform and rehabilitate.
"The public must see justice being done, punishment being served and feel protected."
Published: by Radio NewsHub