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Huge surge in phones seized from prisoners

HMP Manchester
MOBILE phones and sim cards seized from prisoners have more than doubled in the past four years.

Almost 300 were confiscated from four prisons in Greater Manchester and Cheshire in the past twelve months - compared to 128 four years ago.

Warders have seized 899 since 2005.

Prison bosses say inmates use the phones to order drugs and to continue criminal activity behind bars.

Last month two women got suspended sentences for trying to smuggle mobile phones into Manchester Prison.

The figures were obtained by Liberal Democrat MP for Hazel Grove, Andrew Stunell.

He said: "It is clear our prisons are awash with illicit mobile phones, which are a key to enabling prisoners to supply drugs both inside and outside prison.

"Whilst the hardworking prison staff are doing an excellent job in difficult circumstances, and should be commended for seizing a record number of phones, the fact remains that there are still too many getting into the hands of people who shouldn't have access to them."

Mr Stunnell said a recent review made the 'excellent recommendation' of putting mobile-phone blocking technology in all jails.

He added: "The government should look to introduce this on as wide a basis as possible, instead of incarcerating even more of our population, and allowing the drugs problem in our prisons to spiral out of control.

"The government continue to stretch the Prison Service's budget, leaving them unable to provide the rehabilitation courses and treatment prisoners need to reform their character and ditch their drug habits."

The number of confiscations in Forest Bank Prison, Salford, has dropped from 57 in 2005/06 to 0 in 2008/09. Elsewhere the figures for 2008/09 were: Manchester Prison, 126; Hindley, 155; Styal 17.

In 2005/06 the number of confiscations were: Forest Bank, 57; Hindley, 1; Manchester, 62; and Styal, 8.

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Its political correctness that allows easy access to mobile phones in prison and wouldnt be difficult at all to stop except that it would be against their human rights to stop it.

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A friend of mine has spent some time in jail and he said that they are a wash with mobile phones. its apparantly common knowledge on how to charge them from the TV in the cells (whether they should have there own TV is another matter) They should just get the mobile phone blocking tech in as soon as possible. Once criminals on the outside then realise that if you do get convicted and go to prison you cant just carry on as normal running your criminal activity with you phone it might actually reduce crime levels as prison will be less like an easy option.

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What's going on at Forest bank...Zero/Zip/Diddley Squat confiscations in 2008/09...Are searches actually taking places there ?

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All visits should be behind glass or if they dont want to be behind glass the visitors should be offered a scan and a body search if not they visit behind glass this should solve most problems with drugs and phones being smuggled into our prisons.

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Even with searches on people coming in,, doesn't stop them being thrown over the walls..

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The visitors are doing a Chelsea...The way to stop it is to stop visits. Why should prisoners be able to entertain guests?

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Get the new airport scanners into the prisons! Or does that affect human rights?

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Give them hard labour then they wouldn't have time to kill. Incidentally,are any of our posters mailing from prison? I am,but my warder(wife)would consign me to solitary if she knew! Oh well,off to get my bread and water before bedtime!

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