9 million. Other penalties included £329,000 for Dovegate prison and £298,000 for Peterborough men’s prison. The fines are tied to security-related targets, including issues with prison officers having affairs with inmates.
At least four female staff members at HMP Five Wells have been prosecuted for having affairs with inmates in recent years, including Alicia Novas, 19, who had a relationship with inmate Declan Winkless while working there. To counter rising incidents of female prison officers having illicit flings with inmates, reinforcements are being drafted into counter-corruption units, and extra investigators are being sent, according to the Prison Officers' Association. Increased anti-corruption training has also been rolled out at prisons following high-profile arrests and charges of officers.
Separately, the government has paid £10 million to 200 prisoners in the last three years as compensation for failing to protect them from foreseeable harm from other inmates.