A former prison officer at HMP Coldingley in Surrey has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for engaging in romantic relationships with two inmates and plotting to smuggle drugs into another prison.
Isabelle Dales, 23, from Portsmouth, had an intimate relationship with convicted robber Shahid Sharif, which included having sex with him in the prison chapel. She also had an affair with another prisoner, Connor Money, and became engaged to Sharif by May 2022.
Dales was found to have been involved in a plan to bring synthetic cannabinoids, known as “spice,” into HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey. She was set to travel to Brighton to collect drug-soaked envelopes from Sharif’s associate, Lilea Sallis, before smuggling them into the prison.
Sentencing Dales, Sharif, and Sallis at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Christopher Hehir described Dales as a “thoroughly devious, untruthful and manipulative young woman.” He said she had tried to use her “vulnerabilities” as a “shield and an excuse” for her actions, and suspected she had joined the prison service with the intention of engaging in criminal activities with inmates.
The judge stated that Dales “wanted to do it” and was “attention-seeking,” rejecting the defence’s claims that her mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, had influenced her offending. He sentenced Sharif and Sallis to 27 months and two and a half years respectively for their roles in the drug smuggling plot.
The court heard that other prison officers had “obviously clocked on to what was going on” before the postal strike foiled the plan to bring the drug-soaked envelopes into HMP Swaleside.
This case highlights the serious breach of trust and the risks posed by prison staff engaging in illicit relationships and activities with inmates, which can undermine the safety and security of the prison system.
