Ministers today claimed a new X-ray body scanner will be “game-changing” in the battle to improve security at London’s biggest prison after it found four mobile phones, a bag of tobacco and several sim cards on its first day in operation.
The new machine at Wandsworth Prison allows staff to see whether inmates are smuggling in drugs, weapons and phones.
The aim is to help them reduce drug use and associated bullying and violence. It will also hinder inmates’ efforts to liaise with other criminals outside.
The move follows years in which the prison has been blighted by the flow of drugs inside and a report highlighting the lack of sniffer dogs and attempts to smuggle in illicit substances in fake legal letters.
Announcing the deployment of Wandsworth’s new scanner today, which is part of a £100 million investment nationwide to improve security behind bars, prisons minister Lucy Frazer said: “This new technology at Wandsworth is a vital part of our efforts to stem the flow of contraband into jails and allow officers to focus on rehabilitation. The scanners form part of our wider efforts to transform our prisons, creating 10,000 additional modern places and stepping up security to cut crime and ultimately better protect the public.”
Pentonville prison and a number of other jails across the country are also having the new body scanners installed.
Wandsworth Prison was built in 1851 and has suffered from severe overcrowding with about 1,500 inmates inside.
They include young gang members from London and significant numbers of foreign offenders.