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3.1 The prison is situated in the middle of a housing estate on the southern outskirts of the town. It was built about a hundred years ago and its original buildings have been adapted and added to over the years. Over the period, there has also been an expansion of the surrounding urban area.
3.2 The prison performs a number of functions. Firstly, it serves designated Courts in the West of Scotland by holding prisoners on remand in Ailsa Hall (see over). Ailsa also holds a small number of short term convicted adults and is the designated facility for holding persons awaiting deportation (PADS) on behalf of the Immigration Service.
Darroch Hall (below) holds selected LTP lifers from mainstream establishments pending progression to national top end facilities at Chrisswell House in Greenock or Pentland Hall in Edinburgh.
The role of Chrisswell House (below) is to prepare LTPs for progression to open conditions.
3.3 HMP Greenock is designed to hold 248 prisoners.
3.4 Ailsa Hall has some double cells to cope with fluctuations of demand while Chriswell House and Darroch Hall provide single cell accommodation. The population at lock up on 26 January 2001 was 294 (which represents 18% overcrowding) accommodated as follows:-
| Location | Design Capacity | Population |
| Ailsa Hall | 131 | 186 |
| Darroch Hall | 57 | 51 |
| Chrisswell House | 60 | 57 |
| 248 | 294 |
3.5 Of that total population, 177 were adult convicted prisoners and a breakdown of the sentences being served is:-
| Life | 101 |
| 10 years and over | 8 |
| 4 years and less than 10 years | 9 |
| 2 years and less than 4 years | 31 |
| 6 months and less than 2 years | 17 |
| 3 months and less than 6 months | 6 |
| 1 month and less than 3 months | 5 |
| Less than 1 month | 3 |
| 180* |
3.6 In addition to the adult convicted population, there were 67 adult and 16 Under 21 year old remands and 31 PADS.
3.7 A breakdown of the security categories of the adult convicted population was:
| Category A | Nil |
| Category B | 61 |
| Category C | 97 |
| Category Limited D | 18 |
| Category D | 1 |
| 177 |
3.8 In the reporting year prior to our inspection there had been one abscond from an outside working party and one non-return from a placement (both adults). There was one suicide on 14 February 2000 and a 22 year old remand prisoner in Ailsa Hall committed suicide (subject to FAI) on 2 February 2001.
3.9 Prisoners are housed in three separate accommodation areas. Ailsa Hall holds PADS, adults and under 21 remands, and adult short term prisoners. Darroch Hall had recently re-opened following a period of refurbishment to hold long term adult prisoners for assessment prior to progression to national top end facilities at Chrisswell House or Pentland Hall in Edinburgh. It also accommodated long term prisoners who had failed at open prisons and were downgraded to address the reasons for their return to closed conditions.
3.10 Chrisswell House holds mainly life sentence prisoners who have progressed through their sentence and are preparing for transfer to open conditions.
3.11 Full details of the mid-week and weekend routines are contained at Annex 1.
3.12 Standards of cleanliness and hygiene had improved since our previous formal inspection and were generally satisfactory.
3.13 We did, however, note signs of dampness on some cell walls in Ailsa Hall. Local rules about the display of posters were not being applied consistently.
3.14 In Darroch Hall we were disappointed to find that although a refurbishment programme had recently been completed, there were a number of minor snags which had not yet been fixed, including a pay phone and curtain rails in some cells. As a result of the latter, some curtains were hanging on pieces of string held up by nails.
3.15 Integral sanitation or access to night sanitation and electrical power in cells also contributed to the very decent conditions which prisoners enjoyed. Electrical power in Ailsa Hall, however, was switched off at night. Prisoners told us that the diversion provided by television and the use of a kettle were particularly important for individuals experiencing drug withdrawal symptoms or anxiety about imprisonment. Given that the majority of the population of Ailsa Hall are either remand prisoners or PADS who have not been found guilty of any crime, we suggest that they should enjoy at least the same access to electrical power as the LTP convicted population.
3.16 We noted that the position of the overhead projector, VCR and television in the group work rooms was dictated by the length of electrical power cable fitted to the various appliances. This had resulted in the equipment being perched in somewhat precarious positions which, in our opinion, are neither safe nor sensible. We therefore repeat the suggestion made at the time of our last formal inspection that these simple health and safety issues should be addressed and with a degree of urgency.
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