Record number of cops romping with prison lags caught thanks to Line of Duty style anti-corruption unit
A RECORD number of prison officers having flings with lags have been snared thanks to a Line of Duty-style police squad.
The Counter-Corruption Unit, which has been likened to the BBC drama’s AC-12 task force, targets screws suspected of having romps behind bars.
It is behind a 30 per cent jump in the number of jail officers, female and male, prosecuted for inappropriate relationships since 2017.
At least 40 a year, mostly young women, are now being collared for illegal affairs with cons.
Last year, 31 female staff were sacked for flings.
There were just 19 in the previous four years.
Among those jailed have been Emily Watson, 26, who had at least three trysts with a lag, and Ayshea Gunn, 27, who smuggled her knickers into a career criminal’s cell.
Both worked at HMP Berwyn, a 2,100-capacity Category C male jail in Wrexham, North Wales.
Prisons minister Edward Argar said another 140 staff are to join the “beefed up” CCU to find staff rule-breakers and “ensure they face the full force of the law”.
Its surveillance methods mirror those used by “AC-12”, whose members include Det Insp Steve Arnott, played by Martin Compston.