Prison officer jailed for relationship with inmate

Dawn MacCormack was a prison officer at HMP The Mount, near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire

A prison officer has been jailed for conducting an "inappropriate relationship" with an inmate.

Dawn MacCormack, 42, of Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, began an intimate relationship with prisoner Josh Moore in 2019 while working at HMP The Mount, near Hemel Hempstead, police said.

She was sentenced to 27 months at St Albans Crown Court for misconduct in public office, and admitted two charges of unauthorised transmission of calls or texts.

Hertfordshire Police said her "corrupt behaviour completely undermines the difficult and dangerous work that prison officers do in order to help protect the public and keep prisons secure".

The Mount is a Category C men's prison on the outskirts of the village of Bovingdon, Hertfordshire, with capacity for about 1,000 prisoners.

Dawn MacCormack was sentenced following a nine-day trial at St Albans Crown Court in July

Police said that Moore was found with "two illicit phones that had been smuggled into the prison".

Between 15 May and 20 June 2019, MacCormack shared more than 4,000 messages and more than 90 calls with the inmate.

She was arrested in 2019 and charged in June 2020.

Det Con Paula Mowbray, from the Dacorum Local Crime Unit, said: "The actions of the minority who engage in illicit behaviour and inappropriate relationships should not be ignored, and we will continue to investigate such cases.

"I would also like to praise staff at HMP The Mount who came forward to give evidence during the trial, leading to a successful conviction.

"Prison officers up and down the country work tirelessly to maintain the smooth running of the prison regime and were brave enough to stand up to a colleague who was abusing her position and endangering the safety of her colleagues.

"Her corrupt behaviour completely undermines the difficult and dangerous work that prison officers do in order to help protect the public and keep prisons secure."