A female prison officer has been arrested over allegations of misconduct in public office after a video of her having sex with an inmate was circulated among prisoners at HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire. The officer, aged 19, was arrested on 23 December and suspended from her job at the facility, which opened in 2022 and is managed by G4S. It is not clear how long the video had been in circulation before it came to the attention of authorities. Neither the police nor the prison service have commented further on the case.
The incident is the latest in a series of scandals to hit UK prisons in recent years. Earlier this month, a report by the Inspectorate of Prisons said that levels of violence in UK jails had reached “unacceptably high levels”, with more than 60% of facilities judged unsafe. The same report also revealed “shocking” failings in mental health care and described a “sense of hopelessness” among prisoners.
The report followed a highly critical report by the chief inspector of prisons, published in November, which found that the prison system in England and Wales was “in its worst state for 10 years”. Efforts to improve conditions have been hampered by budget cuts and declining staffing levels, the inspectorate said.
The problems facing the prison service have also been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has placed additional pressures on a system that was already struggling to cope. A total of 127 prisoners have died from the virus since March 2020, according to official figures. Prisons have also been hit by frequent outbreaks of the virus, prompting concerns about the safety of both staff and inmates
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