James Sturcke and agencies
Monday August 14, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

Pentonville prison in London where the 14 suspended officers worked. Photograph: Public domain

Fourteen prison officers were suspended today in connection with allegations of corruption including trafficking and "inappropriate relationships" with inmates.
The governor of Pentonville prison in London, where the suspended officers worked, said the jail would "briefly reduce" its number of inmates while an investigation was being carried out.

More than 1,000 prison officers in England and Wales are believed to be corrupt, a confidential report revealed last month. The assessment, carried out by the prison service's own anti-corruption unit and the Metropolitan police and leaked to the BBC, revealed that prison staff were using their positions to smuggle mobile phones and drugs to inmates. It also found that officers were taking cash backhanders for transfers to less secure centres.

"This morning the governor of HMP Pentonville has taken the decision to suspend 14 officers following allegations of corrupt behaviour," a prison service spokeswoman said. "All those suspended will be subject to investigations led by senior governors from other prisons in the London area.
"If any alleged or otherwise suspected criminal activity is uncovered during the investigations, relevant information will be passed to the police."

The corruption allegations concerned trafficking and inappropriate relations, the spokeswoman confirmed. The suspended officers included male and female staff and the maximum number of prisoners being held at the jail has been reduced by 116 to 1,011.