The arrest was made last month by NWROCU officers and she has since been released pending further enquiries
HMP Liverpool(Image: Liverpool Echo)
A prison officer at HMP Liverpool has been arrested as part of a misconduct probe after an inmate’s cell was searched. The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) has confirmed a 28-year-old from Netherton was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office on March 5 this year.
A trusted source at the Walton jail told the ECHO the woman, believed to be a serving officer, was arrested after “a phone was found inside a cell”. The source said: “His cell was spun and a mobile phone was found with alleged messages between the pair.”
A spokesperson for the NWROCU, a taskforce made up of the six police forces in the north west, added: “She was subsequently released under investigation pending further enquiries.” A Prison Service spokesperson told the ECHO: “It would be inappropriate to comment on a live police investigation.”
Misconduct in public office concerns “serious wilful abuse or neglect of the power or responsibilities of the public office held”. Public officers include prison officers, police constables, immigration officers, army officers and civil servants.
The woman’s arrest marks the latest incident at the trouble-hit prison. The ECHO has previously reported this year on a prison “in crisis”, with contacts claiming security and safety corners were being cut.
A weeks-long ECHO investigation published on February 1 heard from a number of staff members, past and present, who alleged officers were going off sick due to workload, pressure and an increasing threats of violence; inexperienced and poorly trained staff were struggling to adapt to prison life; officers were providing “floating cover” across two wings at the same time; and the decision to introduce youth offenders into the adult population had created a volatile environment.
The ECHO also exclusively revealed that the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) held a vote of no confidence regarding HMP Liverpool’s governor. The POA’s national chair Mark Fairhurst told the ECHO the position of governor Rob Luxford was “untenable” after the prison’s senior management had failed to address staff concerns.
The ECHO’s reporting of the ongoing issues at the prison was also referenced during a parliamentary justice committee, when Mr Luxford was asked about ongoing issues at the prison between the governor and his staff. The ECHO had heard of a litany of incidents including a female officer having her head split open after being assaulted with a tap broken off a sink.
HMP Liverpool, in Walton(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
During the parliamentary committee Mr Luxford defended his decisions but was asked if he believed he had the confidence of the staff. He avoided the question but added he had “full confidence that we prioritise the correct level of regime with safety being at the priority of everything we do”.
The ECHO’s attempts to visit the category B prison to report on the conditions there have so far been denied by the Ministry of Justice.
Meanwhile, a former prison governor at HMP Kirkham, was last week found guilty of misconduct in a public office for having a relationship with a renowned Liverpool drug gang boss. Kerri Pegg was a governor at the Lancashire prison when she first met Anthony Saunderson and continued their relationship following his release.
Saunderson, who fell back into serious criminality as soon as he was released and used the handle “Jesse Pinkman” on the EncroChat network, bought Pegg a £12,000 Mercedes with multi-kilos of amphetamines. His DNA was later found on a pair of Hugo Boss flip flops and a toothbrush at her home.
The ECHO exclusively revealed Pegg’s behaviour while working at HMP Liverpool during her career ascent was a cause for concern for serving staff, with one officer describing her as “extremely naïve and an accident waiting to happen”. She faces an inevitable prison sentence when she returns to court.