Rookie jail officers getting crash course on how to not have intercourse with inmates
Bosses fear naive new guards are being sweet-talked, groomed and dragged into secret relationships with hardened cons
Rookie prison officers are being given a crash course in not romping with inmates.(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Rookie prison officers are being given a crash course in not romping with inmates.
Bosses fear naive new guards are being sweet-talked, groomed and dragged into secret relationships with hardened cons – some twice their age and flush with cash.
Now the Prison Service in England and Wales is rolling out a new mentoring scheme to help fresh recruits keep their distance and avoid crossing the line.
It comes as figures show officers are younger and less experienced than a decade ago, raising fears they are easier prey for sneaky inmates.
More than a dozen former officers have already been hauled before the courts after falling into illicit romances involving sex, cash and contraband.
Among them was Alicia Novas, 20, who was locked up for three years after getting involved with lags at HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough.
She struck up a relationship with inmate Declan Winkless, 31, and even smuggled cannabis into the jail.
In another scandal, Linda De Sousa Abreu, from Fulham, was caged for 15 months after being filmed romping with a prisoner inside HMP Wandsworth.
An insider warned green staff can quickly find themselves out of their depth dealing with seasoned crooks.
They said: “New staff are having to deal with criminals, sometimes twice their age, who have influence within prisons, and many have money too.
“If you enter with little experience of prison life, it can be daunting, harrowing and disorientating.”
A Prison Service spokesperson said recruits already complete 10 weeks of intensive training – but bosses are now going further.
They added the new programme will better blend classroom learning with real-world experience behind the prison gates.
