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 £1.8bn.
Although perimeter security systems are maintained on site by contractors, more substantial repairs or replacements can require prisons to apply for additional state funding.
Wheatley said he was “aware of prisons who have requested upgrades to perimeter CCTV [or] replacement CCTV systems, where those requests were not granted because there was simply not enough money”.
He added that investments in maintaining systems such as heating had been prioritised “so that we can continue to occupy cells. Other things including security concerns have not been invested in”.
The Ministry of Justice declined to comment on how many prisons did not have fully functional perimeter security. Two people familiar with the matter said it did not hold an up-to-date record of this information.
The MoJ said that the new government had “inherited a prisons system in crisis, with infrastructure crumbling, dangerous prisons and hard-working staff under immense pressure”.
It pointed to a commitment to invest £500mn in maintaining prison and probation services between 2024 and 2026, adding: “We are now beginning the work of rebuilding our prisons.”
