MOJ Press Release 23 November 2018
Justice Secretary announces specialist search teams to be rolled out across the country with more than 100 officers being recruited.
Specialist search teams are being drafted into jails across the country to find contraband and disrupt the criminals fuelling violence behind bars, Justice Secretary David Gauke announced today.
Read the full story here – https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-search-teams-to-disrupt-and-deter-violence-in-prisons
According to the MOJ:
- Recruitment into the search teams has started, and is expected to continue into the new year.
- Prison officer numbers are at their highest levels since 2012, with 22,319 prison officers in post.
- There has been an increase of 4,364 prison officers since the 2,500 target was announced in October 2016, with a further 1,404 offered jobs/booked on training.