Female bank employees urging criminals in jail to open accounts

LONDON - A bank is sending its female employees to jails so that they can urge sex offenders and paedophiles to open a bank account.

High Street giant Barclays has sent out its female customer services workers inside 17 jails, including Parkhurst and Albany on the Isle of Wight.

One of the staff at a prison alleged that the scheme was a scandal.

“The bank has a captive market of accounts by cashing in on prison inmates,” the Sun quoted a source at HMP Isle of Wight as saying.

“And remember they are sending in young women and men to deal with hardened criminals. It doesn’t seem right,” he added.

Barclays bank said that it was committed to the financial inclusion of people who have no accounts, and that the scheme helped prisoners learn to manage their money, reports The Sun.

“Engaging the expertise of independent organisations like businesses and charities is vital to changing people’s lives and stopping the revolving door of crime,” said the Prison Service. (ANI)