Eighteen female guards at a single prison in the UK have been dismissed from their roles after entering into illicit relationships with inmates. The entanglements all took place at HMP Berwyn, the UK’s largest prison.
The unprecedented figures, which were revealed in Freedom of Information requests, have emerged in the wake of three of the women facing legal action over their respective affairs, reports The Mirror.
The flings occurred over a period of six years at the private prison in Wrexham, North Wales.
Jennifer Gavan was one of the women who became romantically involved with an inmate.
She took £150 ($180) to smuggle a phone into robber Alex Coxon’s cell, which the lovebirds used to send each other x-rated photos on WhatsApp.
Gavan pleaded guilty to misconduct and was handed an eight-month prison sentence.
Her co-workers, Emily Watson and Ayshea Gunn, were also sent behind bars for entering into similar forbidden relationships.
Watson engaged in a sexual relationship with convicted drug dealer John McGee, who was sentenced to eight years for fatal dangerous driving. Probation officer Gunn had relations with armed robber Khuram Razaq with whom she swapped "highly sexualized" photos and videos.
Mark Fairhurst, chair of the Prison Officers’ Association, admits "the wrong kind of women" were hired.
He said: "Staff being recruited don’t have face-to-face interviews… it’s all done on Zoom.
"A lot of people getting these jobs don’t have enough life experience and are susceptible to conditioning from prisoners.
"Your figures just prove what we’ve been warning the employer about for years."
Since 2019, around 31 female officers in England and Wales have been fired for illicit affairs, Ministry of Justice stats indicate. This includes one officer who had a baby with a prisoner.
HMP Berwyn has previously been referred to as the UK’s "cushiest" jail after photos taken inside the prison were more reminiscent of a hotel than an institution for rehabilitation.
Cells have no bars on the windows and come complete with en suite bathrooms.
Inmates also have access to televisions, computers and phones.
A Prison Service spokesman said, per The Mirror: "The majority of staff are hard-working and honest but we are doing more to catch the small number who break the rules."
