Football matches have better security than jails, says prison officers’ chief
Mark Fairhurst of the Prison Officers’ Association said overcrowding and violence were his members’ key concerns.
Football matches and concerts have better security than some jails, according to the national chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA).
Staff who are faced with inmates obtaining illicit items have to deal with prison bosses who are “not up for the fight”, Mark Fairhurst says.
With overcrowding and violence among his key concerns, he told The Times newspaper: “Why on earth we haven’t got body scanners at the gate to randomly put people through, like they do at an airport, I have no idea.
“I’ve seen better security at concerts and football matches than I have going into prisons. Unfortunately, drugs are rife within our prisons.
“Illicit items, mobile phones, drugs, weapons – they are rife within our prisons because managers are very reluctant to lock down prisoners in order for staff to search thoroughly each and every area of the prison.”
Mr Fairhurst said that night-time drone deliveries are routinely getting through and staff fear guns may soon get in.
Last year, the Government released thousands of prisoners early in a bid to grip the overcrowding crisis.
In March, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said “we simply cannot build our way out of the prisons capacity crisis” as she opened HMP Millsike that holds about 1,500 inmates.
The Category C prison in East Yorkshire, which is the size of 39 football pitches, is a step towards the Government’s target to create 14,000 extra prison places by 2031.
Mr Fairhurst also told the newspaper: “I’ve never seen it so bad. I’ve never seen it so overcrowded and I’ve never seen it so violent.
“If we had to lock down a wing or an area day after day after day to get rid of mobile phones, weapons and drugs, the staff on the front line are up for that.
“At the moment, there’s a lot of people getting appeased because the people in charge of our prisons are not up for the fight.”
Mr Fairhurst also called for secure airspace around prisons, warning that “my biggest fear is (that) it’s only a matter of time before a firearm is delivered to a cell window”.
His comments come as the number of assaults on staff in adult prisons in England and Wales per year reached its highest level in a decade.
Some 10,605 assaults on staff in male and female jails were recorded in 2024, up from 9,204 in 2023 and nearly three times the 3,640 in 2014.
The rate of assaults on staff stood at 122 per 1,000 prisoners last year, up from 108 in 2023 and 43 a decade earlier, according to the data released last month.
Several incidents in prisons have raised concerns over staff safety and the standard of protective equipment at work.
Four officers were attacked with hot oil and homemade weapons by Manchester Arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi at HMP Frankland in County Durham on April 12.
Convicted killer John Mansfield was also found dead after suffering a head injury at HMP Whitemoor on April 13, with another inmate arrested on suspicion of his murder.
Data from the Ministry of Justice also showed the number of serious assaults on prison staff in England and Wales reached 974 last year, up from 853 in 2023 and the highest in a decade.
The rate of serious assaults stood at 11 per 1,000 prisoners, up from 10 in 2023 and six in 2014.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “This Government inherited prisons in crisis – overcrowded, with drugs and violence rife – but we are gripping the situation and taking action.
“We are building 14,000 new places by 2031 and reforming sentencing so our prisons never run out of space again.
“We are also bolstering security to stop more contraband entering jails. And we have strengthened vetting – including for temporary staff – to root out those who fall below our high standards.”
