A prison officer kept alcohol, tobacco and mobile phones hidden inside her bra (Image: Liverpool Echo)
A prison officer has been imprisoned for smuggling contraband into HMP Altcourse, by stashing illicit items in her bra. Barbara Peters, who was paid handsomely by “serious criminals”, ferried banned goods into the facility over a dozen times.
The 57-year-old widow and grandmother succumbed to threats and blackmail from inmates before being caught by a covert surveillance sting, a court heard.
Peters had joined the Altcourse staff in December 2022, but by April 30, 2023, she was caught on police surveillance receiving a package from an associate of an inmate in Aintree.
A general view of HMP Altcourse in Liverpool, as Manchester City’s Benjamin Mendy will remain in custody ahead of a potential trial on rape charges after a bail application was refused. The French international is charged with attacks on three different women, including one under 18, at his home on Withinlee Road in Prestbury, Cheshire. Picture date: Wednesday September 1, 2021. (Image: PA)
During questioning, Peters confessed to initially providing a vape to a prisoner in March 2023, which led to her feeling “unfairly” targeted due to “bullying” and “cliques” among the prison staff.
She admitted to later concealing a phone charger in her undergarment for another inmate, who claimed he needed to contact his children, the Liverpool Echo reports
Peters was later apprehended at her subsequent job at the Countess of Chester Hospital on June 6. A note discovered in her vehicle revealed an offer of £2,500 for a holiday in exchange for smuggling “three bars of polly” (cannabis resin), touting “max profit for min risk”.
She also said she sneaked in cigarette papers for a prisoner, after giving him her phone number. Her number was then apparently shared with two others.
Peters alleged one prisoner asked her to smuggle tobacco into the jail and “pestered her for several weeks before she finally relented and agreed”, stating she had initially threatened to report him internally but never did so as he “told her she would be executed”.
The prisoner was said to have arranged the subsequent handover with his contact, Peters being given the contraband and £1,000 in £20 notes by a woman who she believed was a relative of the inmate. The tobacco was then taken into HMP Altcourse the following day, the officer having “walked around the prison for several hours with it concealed in her bra” before she handed it to the prisoner
Peters admitted she later smuggled in vodka disguised in Evian bottles, given to her by a contact in Crosby. She was paid £500 each time, and estimated she received £5,000 in total.
She also confessed to meeting a man known as “Scraggy” at a car park on Rice Lane, where she was given mobile phones and tobacco in exchange for up to £2,000. None of the inmates she identified were charged with any offences related to the smuggling incidents, having remained silent when they were questioned by detectives.
Michael Lavery, defending, told the court: “She is a 57-year-old woman with an exemplary record behind her. She was a pathology technician for 30 years, a job with some public service. She was not aware of the grooming techniques which were applied upon her. The first breach that she committed was for a charging cable for a person who was effectively grooming her, saying that he was losing contact with his children.
“Once that Rubicon is crossed, it is not hard for your honour to understand that the wing gets to know that they have somebody on the inside. Threats were directed to her. The threats were very serious.”
Mr Lavery said his client’s car was also set on fire outside the prison during her first shift, in a matter which was unrelated to those who she was smuggling contraband on behalf of, but added: “A friend of hers in her cohort, a 45-year-old female with a family, took her own life in 2023 because of the pressures she faced, owing to being preyed upon. At the time, her partner was dying.
“Her husband passed away in 2023. He was dealing with renal cancer. He drank himself to death because of his impending passing. She was dealing with the suicide of her friend, the pressure of serious criminals and the death of her partner. They were ringing her at 10 at night, on occasions, demanding, rather than asking, for contraband to be brought into prison.
“I also prey in aid the delay in this case. Her conduct during the course of that delay has been exemplary. From the moment that she was arrested at the Countess of Chester Hospital, she has sought to work. She moved away from Liverpool to put this sorry chapter behind her. She has been offered permanent employment in Scotland.
“She has her daughter here today. She has grandchildren. They were subjected to threats by the prisoners that she was assisting. She has effectively moved on from what was going on then. She was entirely unsuitable for a role like this.”
Peters, who has no previous convictions, admitted one count of conspiracy to convey a prohibited list B article into a prison. Appearing in the dock wearing a pink t-shirt and glasses, she nodded as she was jailed for 10 months.
Judge David Swinnerton said during sentencing: “On the one hand, I have sympathy for you as somebody who perhaps found yourself out of your depth with the people that you were dealing with. On the other hand, you knew full well that you should not have been smuggling into prison. It does not take a genius to realise that. You did it 15 times, and you were paid a total of £9,000 to do it.
“You do not have to have much training to know that you do not bring these items into prison. Because of that, and because you have done it 15 times, I take the view, with some sorrow and regret, that it has to be immediate custody. You will not serve very long. In your case, the punishment and message is that you are going to prison at all.”
