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Open estate abscond report
25/06/2009
Tough new rules introduced last year for transferring prisoners to the open estate were not followed in the case of Brian Martin an independent report concludes today.
Professor Alec Spencer's review was commissioned by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill after Martin absconded from Castle Huntly open prison on May 18.
Welcoming the report - Balancing Risk and Need, Mr MacAskill said:
"I am grateful to Professor Spencer for producing this wide ranging report in such a tight timescale. It looks at a number of issues around the Open Estate and in particular the decision to send Brian Martin to Open conditions.
"It is clear that Martin's previous absconding history was either overlooked or ignored when that decision was made. In all likelihood, if that information had been known, Martin would not have been transferred.
"In other words, the more robust measures I instigated after the Robert Foye case were not followed by Scottish Prison Service staff on this occasion.
"I have made it clear to the SPS that this is not acceptable, and that such lapses must not be repeated.
"Prof Spencer's report supports our view that Open prison is still necessary for the successful re-integration of serious offenders. However, it is vital that the robust processes put in place to ensure public safety are followed every time a prisoner is being considered for transfer to Open conditions.
"Those tighter procedures have already seen a large drop in the number of absconds from Open prisons - 16 in 2008-09 compared with 79 in 2006-07.
"Prof Spencer has made nine recommendations to ensure those robust processes are applied and in some cases tightened even more. SPS is already implementing 4 of them. He has also made a number of suggestions including the use of GPS tagging and simplification of parts of the decision making process.
"We will consider the longer term recommendations and suggestions and respond in the autumn."
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill asked former prison governor Professor Alec Spencer to review the decision to send Brian Martin to Open conditions in light of his subsequent absconding from the Open estate on 18 May 2009.
New criteria for transfer to the open estate were put into place after the abscond of Robert Foye from Castle Huntly in August 2007.