Airport-style scanners and metal detectors will be installed in UK prisons in an attempt to cut down on prisoners committing crime.
Technology will be put in place to detect and block mobile phones to stop those that “seek to organise drug supply or harass victims from the prison wings,” number 10 said.
Prime minister Johnson said: “We cannot allow out prisons to become factories for making bad people worse.
“We still stop the drugs, weapons and the mobile phones coming in, so we can safeguard victims, protect staff, cut violence and make our prisons properly equipped to reform and rehabilitate.
“The public must see justice being done, punishment being served and feel protected.”
The funding package comes a day after Johnson announced £2.5bn to create 10,000 new prison places as well as £85m to go to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Experts called the plans a “monumental waste of money”adding that further proposals for longer sentences and the extension of stop and search would not work.
Justice secretary Robert Buckland said: “There is a direct link between crime on the wings and crime on our streets – it can no longer be assumed that prison walls are enough to stop organised criminals from continuing their operations.
“By disrupting those who continue to offend behind bars, we can keep our staff and other prisoners safe, and make sure that prisons truly fulfil their purpose of protecting the public.”
