Nurse sentenced over relationship with prisoner at Aylesbury's Youth Offender Institution
The 32 year old pleaded guilty to the charges relating to the relationship
The nurse from Aylesbury pleaded guilty to charges relating to the relationship with a prisoner at the Young Offender Institution in Aylesbury.
Following a Thames Valley Police investigation, a woman has been given a suspended prison sentence after she was convicted of offences related to misconduct in public office.
Bernice Ivey, aged 32, of Eskdale Road, Aylesbury, pleaded guilty to wilful misconduct in public office and transmitting or causing transmission of an image/sound from a prison, contrary to the Prison Act 1952.
Between 1 March 2017 and 18 October 2017, Ivey was employed as a Senior Staff Nurse at HMYOI Aylesbury and entered into a personal relationship with a serving prisoner.
Ivey also failed to notify her supervisors and the Governor at HMYOI Aylesbury that the prisoner had access to a mobile phone, and she made contact with this prisoner multiple times by way of telephone calls, text messages and letters.
Ivey had also repeated unwarranted personal contact with the prisoner in the healthcare department at the prison, continuing to pursue a relationship, despite having full induction and security training and knowing that this was wrong.
After pleading guilty, Ivey was sentenced on Monday (14/6) at Amersham Law Courts to 15 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid community work.
Investigating officer PC Maureen Moore of the Prison Investigation Team, said: “The existence of corruption in prisons will always lead to an issue of order and control.
“Ivey was in a position of trust and she abused that position in a medical setting within the prison.
“She also failed to inform the prison Governors that the man she was having a relationship with had a prohibited mobile phone, with which they communicated together.
“It is essential for the safety and security of officers and staff within prison settings that all members of staff are trustworthy to allow the safe and secure running of the establishment, and Ivey’s behaviour fell far below what is expected, and she has now been sentenced accordingly.”