A female prison officer has been locked up after forming an inappropriate relationship with an inmate and smuggling phones into jail for him.
Amie Turner’s secret came to light in April 2016 when intelligence reports first raised concerns about her behaviour, Manchester Crown Court heard yesterday.
An investigation found that Turner, 34, had been communicating with multiple mobile phones, some of which were understood to be within HMP Manchester.
Phone records confirmed that Turner was making calls into a mobile phone inside the prison.
Turner, of Alexandra Road, Bolton, pleaded guilty of misconduct in a public office and encouraging the use of a mobile phone inside HMP Manchester.
She was sentenced to 15 months in jail, following the joint investigation by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) and the HMPPS Counter Corruption Unit, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Detective Inspector Brian Morley, from the NWROCU, said: ‘This case highlights the serious consequences of corruption within the prison system.
‘We will continue to work tirelessly with partner agencies and police forces across the region to root out such behaviour and ensure the integrity of our prisons.’
Amie Turner, 34, of Alexandra Road, Bolton, was sentenced to 15 months in jail, following the joint investigation by the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit and the HMPPS Counter Corruption Unit
He added: ‘We want to reassure the honest, dedicated, and hardworking prison staff that through partnership working with our prisons across the region, and the HMPPS Counter Corruption Unit, we will continue to take action against people who choose to engage in corrupt activity.’
Last month, Megan Breen, 23, from Newport, Gwent, avoided jail after having an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with a convicted drug dealer.
Breen began the fling while working as an officer at category C jail HMP Usk and the nearby open prison HMP Prescoed, both in South Wales.
She had sex with the prisoner in a hotel room after travelling 175 miles to meet him when he was on home release.
Breen even met the inmate’s family on the trip and exchanged hundreds of messages with him while he was behind bars.
At least 30 female prison guard have been given the sack in the past three years for forming improper relationships with prisoners.
That compares to just nine women who lost their jobs for the same offence between 2017 and 2019.
Morgan Farr Varney, 24, was jailed in May for ten months over an illicit relationship with a prisoner at HMP Lindholme.
She was caught slipping into a cupboard with Jordan Stones, 30, a crack cocaine dealer serving a five-a-half year sentence.
Interviewed by police, Farr Varney, also from Stainforth, admitted she had ‘proper fallen in love’ with him and admitted she had ‘f****ed her life up’.
Stones was handed an extra six weeks’ jail time after being caught with an illicit mobile phone to stay in touch with the shamed guard.
