A "naïve" prison officer who illegally accessed computer records on behalf of two Merseyside drug dealers and repeatedly spoke to one of them on the phone under a false name has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Cally White, 26, checked HMP Berwyn's database over 100 times in respect of prisoner Ryan Hamid and his associate David Blackburn while working at the North Wales prison.
Inappropriate relationships
Mold Crown Court heard White was employed as a prison officer at HMP Berwyn in May 2023. But in November the following year, information came to light suggesting White had been "forming inappropriate relationships" with prisoners.
One of the prisoners was Hamid, of Kirkby, with the contact continuing following his release. Hamid was later recalled to prison, but sent to HMP Altcourse in Fazakerley, where he remained in contact with White, who was listed as an approved phone contact under the alias "Sophie Wright".
During their recorded calls, the pair discussed work, shift patterns and other prisoners and staff at Berwyn. One of the prisoners discussed was Hamid's friend Blackburn, also from Kirkby, and it was implied in the calls she had checked the systems to provide an update on his status.
Unauthorised access
White accessed Hamid's prison record around 60 times, including his personal details, offence details, release dates and case notes. She also accessed Blackburn's records 44 times, including a record after he and his cellmate were found with a number of illicit items including an iPhone.
The prosecution accepted White had pleaded on the basis she was not in a romantic relationship with Hamid, nor that cash paid into her bank account was from Blackburn or had been facilitated by Hamid. She pleaded guilty to unauthorised access of the computer system.
Sentencing
White's counsel said: "She knows how stupid she has been. She is not just sorry but deeply ashamed." The court heard the Masters degree-educated woman had a stable relationship, a new job and was returning to university to continue further studies.
The presiding judge, Recorder John Philpotts, told her: "Corruption undermines the whole fabric of the work prisons do and other people must be deterred from behaving in the way you did."
White, of Bagillt, Flintshire, was told her "behaviour shows an enormous level of naivety" as she was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for a year. She was also ordered to complete 10 days of rehabilitation, 200 hours of community service and pay £1,000 towards prosecution costs.
Background of the prisoners
Hamid, nicknamed "Badger" because of a white streak in his hair, led a gang that supplied drugs in North Wales. The group was said to have "made thousands of pounds out of the misery of others" and spent the profits on spa days, holidays and trips to Chester Races.
"Badger" orchestrated the sale of heroin and crack cocaine, recruiting other members of the gang from Liverpool and North Wales to deal on his behalf. The gang was caught when officers raided a house in Bagillt and caught Hamid and his lieutenants resupplying the operation.
The leader was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison in October 2020, with the presiding judge describing the operation as "relentless, arrogant and determined to exploit vulnerable clients for greed".
Blackburn was jailed as part of the investigation into the encrypted EncroChat messaging platform. Identified as the user of the "super.biking" phone handle, he was said to have worked with fellow Kirkby man David Pinnington, who went by "loftyhail", and others to supply cocaine, heroin and cannabis across the Merseyside area. He was jailed for 11 years in December 2021.
