As COVID restrictions ease, there’s good news for prison inmates across Doncaster today as visits from family and friends can resume.
Staff at HMP Moorland are ready and waiting to welcome visitors and will be joined by officers from the Prison Crime Team which is made up of officers from South Yorkshire Police.
The team works closely with the four prisons in Doncaster, and helps tackle several issues, one of the most important being cracking down on illicit items brought into prisons.
The presence of items such as drugs, tobacco and mobile phones can create significant issues inside prisons, threatening the safety of staff and inmates alike.
Detective Inspector Steve Smith, head of the Prison Crime Team, said: “It’s great news that visitors will once again be able to come to the prisons in Doncaster and spend time with their loved ones. We know the benefits these opportunities bring and do all we can to support them.
“Now is an important time to remind people who are planning to visit an inmate in the coming weeks that my team and I will be at every prison in Doncaster throughout May, and throughout the summer.
“One of our key priorities is to stop illicit items being taken into prisons. These items can result in serious harm and provoke or promote serious and violent crime.
“Officers will be supporting prison staff during searches, patrolling prison perimeter fences trying to identify anyone who might try to throw items into the prison grounds, and engaging with visitors as they arrive.
“My message is clear: we will continue to be relentless as we pursue those who are responsible for organised and violent crime, both inside prisons and in the Doncaster communities that we serve. Please come and enjoy your visit, but don’t take the risk of being arrested yourself.”
If you have information that could help our prison team, please call 101 or report online. If you would like to stay completely anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
