Claims that prison workers fail to undergo an appropriate vetting process require “urgent clarification,” the justice secretary said on Wednesday, after concerns were raised about HMP Bedford.
An undercover journalist who was hired to work at HMP Bedford in February reported a range of flaws in the vetting process and security checks in the prison.
Paul Morgan-Bentley said the hiring agency didn’t conduct a due diligence background check, and he was able to repeatedly enter the jail without having his belongings scanned for drugs and weapons.
“On two out of eight days that I worked at the prison, there was no one manning the security scanners at the front entrance when I arrived for work. This allowed me and several others to walk inside the jail and through to prisoner wings without even the most basic searches,” Mr. Morgan-Bentley said in a post on social media platform X.
Security and Staff Filtering
In 2019, the government set out a £100 million investment as part of a crackdown on crime behind bars. The investment was meant to fund X-ray scanners and metal detectors to stamp out drugs, weapons, and mobile phones in prisons.
The MoJ said that the “enhanced airport-style security in place at HMP Bedford” was part of tough new controls, funded by the government.
“We deliberately do not set out when it will be in operation in order to provide regular spot checks. However, in February it was used 91 percent of the time at HMP Bedford,” the spokesperson said.
However, according to Mr. Morgan-Bentley prison staff often reported they’d not been trained to use scanners.
“I was repeatedly able to enter the jail without having my belongings scanned for drugs and weapons,” he added.
HMCPSI found that prison officers don’t have to attend a face-to-face interview with the governor during the recruitment process.
“Not enough filtering was being done by the prison service,” the report added.
Urgent Action
Immediate action to overhaul HMP Bedford was announced at the end of last year. It followed a critical inspection report by the His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) in November 2023, which found “complex causes of violence and self-harm at the prison.”“Levels of violence, especially against staff, were very high. Much of this was fuelled by prisoner frustration at poor and inconsistent time out of cell and lack of response to legitimate requests through the application and complaints systems,” the report found.
Charlie Taylor, HM chief inspector of prisons, said that although staffing at Bedford looked reasonable on paper, too many officers “were not available for full duties and levels of long-term sickness were high.”
He added that many officers were inexperienced and did not have a clear idea of the role.
“Some of the accommodation in Bedford was the worst I have seen. On E wing, the smell of mould in one cell was overpowering, with the walls damp to the touch, while the underground segregation unit was a disgrace,” said Mr. Taylor.
He also acknowledged the dedication of staff to provide care for prisoners.
Asked whether the prison’s response should address security failings highlighted by Mr. Morgan-Bentley, the chief inspector agreed, adding, “There is something going wrong at Bedford that needs to be urgently fixed in order for the public to be kept safe, but also for the prisoners to be kept safe while they are locked up.”
