| PRISON
ESTABLISHMENTS |
| |
| Review
of Estate |
| 2.1
An SPS initiated ‘Review of Small Units’ led to
some fundamental changes to the Prison Estate with the
Barlinnie Special Unit being closed in January 1995 as
‘it could not be developed to provide the
appropriate facilities’. The Inspectorate had
likewise commented that control was increasingly
difficult due to the nature of its buildings. In parallel
it was announced that an Induction Centre for prisoners
who were sentenced to 10 years or more would be
introduced at Shotts during 1995: this would exclude sex
offenders. Additionally a new 10-place unit at Peterhead
was to be made available for those prisoners who were not
coping with mainstream life, separate to but
complementing the less structured regime of the
‘Shotts Unit’ which has been established for
several years. Thus the number of prison establishments,
which now includes two Units at Shotts, will have risen
from 21 to 22. It would also appear that the principles
behind the former Barlinnie Special Unit are far from
being lost; they are in fact being extended. |
| |
| Women
Prisoners |
| 2.2
SPS announcements on the treatment of women offenders
were made at a SACRO Forum in March 1995. These concerned
the re-siting of women prisoners in Scotland and are
expected to take effect later this year; the following
outline details were given by the Chief Executive of the
SPS: |
| ‘Short-term
convicted women prisoners from the north and south west
of Scotland will be able to serve their sentences closer
to home in future. Instead of having to travel to the
Central Belt to serve their sentences in HM Institution
Cornton Vale, near Stirling, women offenders sentenced to
less than two years from the north will be able to stay
in HMPs Aberdeen or Inverness. Those from the south west
will be able to do so in HMP Dumfries. |
| This
will help maintain closer family links for those women
who are currently held a long way from home. At present,
only women on remand can be held in Dumfries, Aberdeen
and Inverness (as well as Cornton Vale). Once the
accommodation in these three local prisons has been
upgraded and extended, women serving less than six months
will stay there, while those serving between six and 24
months will have the choice of staying locally or going
to Cornton Vale. Women sentenced to two years or more
will still continue to go to Cornton Vale. |
| The
Training for Freedom (TFF) hostel outside HMYOI Polmont,
near Falkirk, is also being considered as a pre-release
facility for Category ‘D’ women prisoners and
to provide open conditions for up to 16 women prisoners
nearing the end of their sentences. Totally
self-contained and segregated from the YOI, this unit is
to have a regime similar to other TFF hostels. Suitable
outside work placements and education opportunities are
thought to be available’. |
| 2.3
Maintenance of family contact for women and the
opportunity to progress to open conditions were two of
several issues highlighted in the ‘Second Prison
Survey’ and the Inspectorate’s 1994-95 Thematic
Study; it is gratifying to see these being tackled by the
SPS and so quickly. Nevertheless these important
adjustments could lead to there being an increase in
empty accommodation at Cornton Vale. This in turn might
lead to the introduction of male prisoners to relieve the
pressures of overcrowding elsewhere in the prison estate.
Both the SPS and the Inspectorate recognise that any such
initiative would have to ensure that future contact
between the groups was both limited and supervised (ie
segregated not integrated). |
| |
| Works |
| 2.4
A total of approximately £15 million was spent on
capital improvements and maintenance during the last
financial year with that total being increased to £19
million for the 1995-96 budget. Thus it is clear that the
Prison Estate is being extensively upgraded - and not
before time - although some of the older Victorian era
facilities are still standing, for example HMP Barlinnie.
However, a £25 million upgrading programme for that
establishment has been announced and is due to start
there this Autumn; a five year programme at HMP Edinburgh
has started and will improve conditions for remand and
other prisoners. The construction of a new accommodation
block of 60 cells at HMP Greenock has also been
announced, and improvements are also planned for HMPs
Aberdeen and Peterhead. |
| 2.5
We are, therefore, pleased to see capital and maintenance
budgets being increased - this is essential if the SPS is
to meet its target of ending ‘slopping out’ by
the end of this century. |
