Decades-old prison infrastructure in England and Wales is facing significant security challenges due to under-investment. Dozens of prisons lack fully operational perimeter security, raising concerns about potential escapes.
Dozens of prisons in England and Wales do not have fully working perimeter security, the head of the body representing governors has warned. Security systems at “multiple tens of prisons”, including “high-security prisons holding some of the most dangerous people”, were not fully operational, said Tom Wheatley, president of the Prison Governors Association.
Some sites have had faulty CCTV or alarm systems for months or even years, he told the Financial Times, adding that governors were unable to secure the limited maintenance funds available as these were spent on preventing cells from becoming uninhabitable. His comments came after a spate of high-profile escapes from England’s prisons amid a growing capacity crisis in the system. In June 2024, a fugitive from Kirklevington Grange Prison was recaptured after a month on the run, while a prisoner who escaped from Wormwood Scrubs in July was found within days. Former British soldier Daniel Khalife, who was found guilty of spying for Iran in a high-profile case in November, previously spent four days on the run after escaping from HMP Wandsworth by clinging to the underside of a truck. Wheatley’s warning presents a particularly alarming example of the severe under-investment in maintaining the UK’s prison estate, some of which dates back to the Victorian era. It highlights the extent of the crisis facing the government, even after it pledged to create thousands of new prison places. Prison officials have warned that under-investment means cells are falling out of use almost as quickly as new ones were built. Some 4,151 cells have been indefinitely closed in England and Wales since 2010, exceeding the total number added by the two newest jails, according to the National Audit Office. The watchdog also found that between 2020 and September 2024, the estimated total value of outstanding maintenance jobs in England and Wales prisons doubled from £0.9bn to £1.8b
PRISON SECURITY UNDERINVESTMENT ESCAPES CAPACITY CRISIS MAINTENANCE
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