By C1 Staff
BRITAIN, UK — Inmates in British prisons are brazenly posting images and videos of themselves with illegal contraband inside their prison cells on social media sites, and union leaders say there isn’t enough staff to handle the problem.
Channel 4 reports that assaults against prison staff in England and Wales have reached a 10-year high; drug seizures have also grown.
But budget cuts are preventing warders and other staff from being proactive about the issues; Peter McFarlin, chairman of the prison officers association, said that the facilities have become impossible due to lack of staff.
Channel 4 cited a criminal justice blogger who blamed corrupt staff members as the main source of contraband, who wrote that “prisons are awash with drugs both legal and illegal. The main way they come into prisons is through staff.
“The amount that prisoners or visitors can smuggle in is minute compared to the amount that is available on the prison wing.
“Corrupt staff play a role in this, whether uniformed staff or civilian staff such as people in education or maintenance.”
The blogger did say that some officers are blackmailed into supplying contraband.
A leaked report from 2006 estimated that up to 1,000 corrupt staff members could be involved in smuggling.
Ministry of Justice figures from 2011 stated that in three preceding years 92 prison staff were dismissed, 78 convicted, and 167 staff who worked for contract agencies were excluded from the facilities.