Violent criminals in open prisons putting the public at risk - union

HMP North Sea Camp is a category D open prison in Lincolnshire

Dangerous criminals are being moved to open prisons because higher security jails are too full to cope with them, according to a prison officers' union.

Last week, sex offender Paul Robson walked out of HMP North Sea Camp - an open prison in Lincolnshire - before he was arrested.

Jackie Marshall, from prison officers' union POA, said the public were being put at risk.

The Ministry of Justice said "incidents and absconds are rare".

However, Ms Marshall said: "We're never surprised to hear of absconders from the open estate."

The POA believes prisoners are being moved to the open estate sooner due to population pressures from the closed estate.

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Security is so lax in open prisons, criminals have even been able to use the services of sex workers, she added.

The Ministry of Justice said it was spending £100m across the whole prison estate to bolster security to stop banned items reaching inmates.

Category D prison HMP North Sea Camp near Boston can hold up to 420 inmates, with the prison being about 80% full at its last inspection in April.

Jackie Marshall is from prison officers' union the POA

Ms Marshall said she believed there were violent and dangerous prisoners in open estates who should not be there, putting the public at risk.

"There are rules that they are meant to comply with... [but] there's no physical security in the estate," the former prison officer added.

Absconding will "happen again", she said.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said there had not been a single violent incident reported at HMP North Sea Camp last year.

"Any prisoner who was violent or breached the rules would be returned to closed conditions, which means incidents and absconds are rare," the spokesperson added.

Ms Marshall said there was a place for open prisons in the justice system.

"It's really important that you reintegrate people back into society, but that has to be done right, and that has to be done with the right prisoners going into the open estate."