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Shotts prison report
15/08/2007
Shotts is currently a "stable" prison in terms of relationships between staff and prisoners and a safe atmosphere, according to the latest report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons published today.
Dr Andrew McLellan's report, based on a full inspection in February this year, highlights that:
- The prison is safer and calmer than it has been for many years
- Relationships between staff and prisoners are good
- Arrangements for maintaining contact with families are very good
However, the report also notes that:
- Unscreened toilets in cells detract from living conditions which are otherwise decent
- There are very few training opportunities in the workshops
- Some prisoners are delayed in their progression towards a top-end or open conditions as a result of the numbers requiring to participate in the Violence Prevention Programme
- Arrangements for suicide risk management are inadequate
Dr McLellan said:
"The word "stable" describes the relationship between prisoners and staff in Shotts, it recognises the safe atmosphere throughout the prison, which is remarkable in a prison that was once notorious for violence; and it takes account of the fact that many prisoners in Shotts have been there for a long time and many will be there for a long time to come. Different factors contribute to that stability. There is no overcrowding and there is no cell sharing. There is also no rebuilding.
"The most important expression of this stability is in the safety of the prison. Over the last few years management and staff have worked hard, and have been bold in their strategy, to reduce the level of violence in the prison. The prison is now a very different place from the prison of years ago. An inspection published in 1994 quoted 40 per cent of prisoners saying that they feared for their safety. This year the figure is 14 per cent. Less than twenty years ago an HMCIP report stated that "incidents of mass indiscipline and confrontation with staff became the norm". That prison is unrecognisable today.
"For some time family contact and visits have been given some priority. The availability of visits at Shotts is good, as is the visits room: the provision at the tea-bar for visitors and prisoners is very good indeed. Special provision for father and child visits, with highlights like Christmas Dinner, cinema days and photo opportunities, make a real contribution to maintaining family relationships. The work of Family Contact Officers is also good.
"A prison can be stable, but still have weaknesses. In healthcare the triage system is not operating for the good of prisoners. There is an element of disciplinary procedure in the system which is not appropriate: it creates difficulty for prison staff and it puts pressure on prisoners to go to work whether or not they are ill.
"Even more serious is the poor practice in suicide risk management. There had not been a meeting of the Suicide Risk Management Group since February 2006; there was no audit of records; and the process lacked coordination and leadership.
"There has been no change in the toilet provision. Unscreened toilets are within the cells, so prisoners eat and sleep in the presence of this unscreened toilet.
"The provision of vocational training is meagre, and links between vocational training and outside employers are poor. What happens in the Learning centre is good, but far too few prisoners are in a position to make use of it.
"Prisoners should be properly prepared for release. The expectation is that prisoners are not released directly from Shotts but from another prison to which they had progressed. In fact 77 prisoners were released from Shotts in the year 2005-06. Pre-release arrangements for them, both in terms of the psychological issues around release and in terms of links with outside organisations, services and community groups need to be improved.
"A 'Violence Prevention Programme' was introduced in Shotts in 2003. There is a large gap between the number of people who are identified as requiring this programme and the number of places available. As a result prisoners are delayed in their progression towards a top-end or to open conditions. This is not good preparation for release. When prisoners do progress to an open prison they do not all benefit from the opportunity. In the year before the inspection 46 prisoners went to the Open Estate, and 18 had to return to Shotts because of problems they experienced there. If moving to open conditions is such a difficult test prisoners need to be better equipped to face it."
Scotland's prisons are subject to regular inspection. A full inspection normally takes place every three years and examines all aspects of the establishment. Follow up inspections are carried out in the year following a full inspection and these examine points of note raised in previous inspections, examine significant changes since then, and explore issues arising from the establishment's own assessment of itself.
Today's report relates to a full inspection of Shotts prison, with a focus on the conditions in which prisoners live and on the way prisoners are treated.