Newly recruited prison officers in the UK, many of whom are from Nigeria, have reportedly resorted to sleeping in cars or camping due to the high cost of accommodation. The recruitment of foreign workers is part of the UK’s strategy to address a severe shortage of personnel needed to manage its overcrowded prisons.
Following an October 2023 rule change, prison officers were classified as skilled workers eligible for sponsorship, enabling the UK prison service to recruit from abroad for the first time. While this approach has brought in hundreds of skilled workers, particularly from Nigeria, the process has sparked controversy.
Many recruits arrived under the assumption that accommodation would be provided, leading to difficult living conditions for some. Mark Fairhurst, president of the Prison Officers Association (POA), highlighted alarming cases of new recruits struggling with housing. One officer commuted 70 miles daily from Huddersfield to Nottingham before opting to sleep in his car outside the prison.
Another recruit reportedly camped in a wooded area near a prison after realizing no accommodation was included.
“We’ve had people show up at the gates with suitcases and families, asking staff, ‘Where is the accommodation?’” Fairhurst said.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) revealed that up to 250 foreign nationals have been sponsored to work in the prison service after undergoing online interviews and vetting. In a single month last year, two-thirds of the 3,500 applicants were from Africa, largely driven by online recruitment campaigns targeting the Nigerian expatriate community.
Despite the influx of workers, integration challenges have emerged. Tom Wheatley, president of the Prison Governors Association (PGA), noted difficulties in adapting to life in rural communities, along with language and communication barriers. Fairhurst also criticized the recruitment process, particularly the reliance on Zoom interviews, which he argued results in hiring underqualified officers.
Recruits are given just six weeks of training, which he described as insufficient for preparing them to manage prisoners effectively.
“The process is simply not fit for purpose,” he said, calling for a return to in-person interviews to ensure proper vetting.
Concerns about the quality of recruits have also been linked to rising misconduct among prison staff. Last year, a record 165 officers were dismissed for misconduct, a 34% increase from the previous year. In one high-profile case, a former officer at HMP Wandsworth was sentenced to 15 months in prison for inappropriate behavior with an inmate.
