The recruitment process for prison officers is ‘simply not fit for purpose’, with candidates routinely being hired over Zoom, according to the national chair of the Prison Officers’ Association.
Mark Fairhurst told the House of Lords justice and home affairs committee that officers were often recruited without meeting them face-to-face, and then given insufficient training to learn how to manage prisoners.
He gave examples of officers being hired who had physical disabilities which meant they would not meet security requirements, including one person who had to be dismissed after commencing work because they had cerebral palsy.
“We are setting people up to fail,” said Fairhurst, who argued that corrupt and underqualified officers were often slipping through the net.
He told the committee that one person had left the training college without being able to lock and unlock cell doors, and could not perform rub-down searches or handle restraints.
Fairhurst added that the recruitment process is so poor that prison officers recruited from overseas would turn up and expect accommodation. Some were even camping out or sleeping in cars near prisons with their families.
He also criticised how jobs in the prison service were advertised, with adverts promoting flexible working and part-time work – arrangements that were often never granted. This led to high attrition among recruits, he said.
He called for the recruitment process to be strengthened to ensure candidates were more suited to the challenges of the role. Officers were often more susceptible to corruption without the right training and robust screening, Fairhurst added.
Earlier this month, an officer at HMP Wandsworth was jailed after she was filmed having sex with an inmate during her shift.
He said: “Six weeks’ training … then you are a fully qualified prison officer. We have very little support on the landings to nurture you because we have a severe lack of experienced staff. We don’t get enough training on how you get conditioned by prisoners.”
Speaking after giving evidence Fairhurst said: “Today, members of the committee were given a dose of reality about what life is like for our members day in, day out in prisons across the country.
“The lack of support provided to prison officers working in one of the most hostile working environments in Europe is truly shocking. We need urgent action and investment to address key issues such as prison violence, drone use, low pay, poor training, recruitment and retention and management culture.
The current crisis in the prison service is failing staff, failing prisoners and failing society.”
A spokesperson for HM Prison Service said: “Our prison officers undergo robust assessments and an extended period of training before they work in prisons.
“We also continuously review our recruitment process to ensure our officers are best suited to their role and have strengthened vetting procedures to root out applicants who fall below our high standards.”
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