The tough new measures are to crack down on the smuggling of drugs, weapons and phones into prisons.
Laura Sanders
- Published: 04 11 2019
- Last updated: 05 11 2019
Just weeks after a damning report finds some of the “worst” living conditions seen by the inspector, HMP Hewell is now one of the first to benefit from tough new security measures.
At the time of the last inspection, 40 per cent of inmates said they didn’t feel safe and drug availability was high.
With this new investment, the prison will have airport-style security in place from April next year to tackle the problem with smuggling in contraband.
Under these new measures, all staff and visitors will be scanned as well as their belongings before they enter the prison, “similar to when you go on holiday” said the Chair of Prison Officers Association (POA), Mark Fieldhouse.
HMP Hewell is one of seven prisons which have been prioritized across England and Wales to tackle a “significant” problem.
This is part of the government’s new £2.75bn investment in prison reform and modernisation.
Mark Fieldhouse from the POA tells us,
“We welcome the extra investment in security measures at our prisons and Hewell is one of those prisons which is a priority for security measures.”
We’re told the £100 million investment also includes: a new digital forensics facility, expanded digital investigations team and phone-blocking technology, to clamp down on the organised crime behind bars.
Laura Sanders 