WITH the recent prison being taken back under government control, it does seem to a lay-person unbelievable that prisons are not more secure, with prisoners able free to access with drugs, mobile phones and other contraband with comparative ease, leading to the conclusion that either the prison officers are corrupt or incompetent in carrying out their duties.

I’m sure, as with any big organisation, not all staff are trustworthy or honest and diligent. The only way things can get into the confines of the prison is by human involvement, ie, prison visits or prison employees. I know it’s possibly conceived too simplistic that family/friends take nothing in with them other than themselves and are properly searched without infringing their human rights. I’m not suggesting prison visits should be held behind glass with no human contact, but it cannot be right that people come out of prison with drug habits that on the outside they would not normally be in contact with.

With regards to mobile phones and sim cards being smuggled into prison, surely they could erect a mobile antenna that could act as a blocker, thus no signal. It seems in prison you get better chance of fast internet broadband connection than some areas outside in the wider community.

Perhaps one other answer is to put all prisons back under the control of the state, not firms which run them as a profit-making enterprise, with proper accounting responsibilities to the government of the day and staff properly vetted, trained and a system universally adopted through out the penal system.

Equally the sentencing system needs a complete overall. How on earth can some be sentenced to very lengthy terms of imprisonment only to be released a few years down the line or indeed moved to an open prison after a few short months of conviction? Perhaps prisoners should have to earn any remission on the basis of their conduct while being one of Her Majesty’s guests.

As they say, if you cannot to the time, don’t do the crime.

Peter Fallon

Southampton