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2. PREAMBLE
2.1 This follow-up report indicates that serious attention has been paid to the matters raised in the full inspection report of 2005, and that most have been dealt with satisfactorily. For example, the activity of the addiction staff is now more clearly focused and directed. Improvements have been made to the "rovering" system: this is the system by which prisoners are able to move to different parts of the jail under the escort of a Prison Custody Officer. When the system does not work properly prisoners have great difficulty in accessing facilities they need in the learning centre or the health centre. There is also evidence of more consistency in Induction and better integration of Sentence Management and Throughcare.
2.2 There is still not enough for remand prisoners to do. It is good that they spend significant periods of each day out of their cells; but it is not good that there are so few opportunities for useful activity for them. Some additional educational provision has been made: however, the day for a remand prisoner is still an empty, boring experience.
2.3 The Throughcare Centre is now well established. There was evidence from prisoners of its importance in making useful links with the community before release. The Criminal Justice Plan of the Scottish Executive says that support at the point when an offender leaves prison "is crucial in influencing future offending behaviour". That is the work which is begun in Throughcare Centres (or Links Centres, as they are more usually called). The consolidation and extension of that work is important for public safety, as well as for the welfare of prisoners. However, the funding of the Throughcare Centre in Kilmarnock finishes in 2006. It is important that the operation of the Centre is maintained.
2.4 At around the time of the last full inspection of Kilmarnock, the BBC showed an 'under cover' documentary which expressed concern about the anti-suicide procedures in place in the prison. The full inspection did not provide evidence to support this concern; nevertheless this current inspection paid close attention to anti-suicide measures. In March 2005, a Fatal Accident Inquiry Report into the death of a prisoner in Kilmarnock in January 2002 was published. Following the documentary and the Fatal Accident Inquiry Report, Premier commissioned an independent audit of Kilmarnock's Suicide Risk Management Strategy. This report found that the anti-suicide strategy at Kilmarnock was "comprehensive, well-managed and effective". The current inspection report confirms that conclusion, providing evidence of a strategy which is competent and thorough. Every prisoner group interviewed said that they felt safe in the prison.
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