Many cases involved inexperienced female staff who formed romantic or sexual relationships with the prisoners, according to the official data covering England and Wales
Soaring numbers of prison officers are being disciplined for having illicit relationships with inmates.
The number of screws reprimanded for “inappropriate” relationships with prisoners or former inmates has nearly tripled from 12 in 2017/18 to 32 in 2024/5.
Many cases involved inexperienced female staff who formed romantic or sexual relationships with the prisoners, according to the official data covering England and Wales.
Some incidents saw officers being enticed to smuggle drugs into prison or turn a blind eye to mobile phone use. Ian Acheson, an ex-prison governor and former government adviser, called for better training and recruitment of prison officers.
He said: “It is clearly related to poorly selected and poorly trained people with no life experience being thrown into jails holding sophisticated prisoners.
“The lack of experience, staff shortages and the lack of supervision makes sexual boundary violations that much more possible.
“If we are recruiting people… who need additional training not to have sex with prisoners, it says much about just how unattractive the job of a prison officer has become.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Any relationship between prisoners and members of staff is inappropriate.
“We don’t hesitate to take the toughest action against any staff that fall below our high standards.”
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