2. Establishment

2.1 HMP Perth is located on a 14 acre site, one mile to the south of the city centre on the A9 Edinburgh to Inverness road. Having been built between 1840 and 1859, it is Scotland's oldest occupied prison.

2.2 There had, however, been little or no major improvement work to its original accommodation fabric for over 130 years until one of the four gallery-style Halls - ie ‘D’ Hall - was emptied in mid 1996 for a complete refurbishment. That work was due to be completed by the autumn of 1997 but in the meantime the Hall closure had greatly, albeit temporarily, reduced the prison’s design capacity leading to record overcrowding at a time when there was significant growth in prisoner numbers across the SPS. At the time of inspection, the prison was some 50% over capacity and as a result, the rolling refurbishment programme for the other three Halls had just been postponed pending a further assessment of long term population trends.

2.3 Currently the establishment is one of the most complex in the SPS, with its main functions being that of both a local and a national long-term prison at the same time. Its functions include:

2.3.1 Local Prison

To provide reception and holding facilities for young offenders (YO) and adults who have been remanded by the courts of Angus, Perth, Kinross, the City of Dundee and the northern part of Fife.

To hold short term prisoners - ie those serving under four years - including fine defaulters, from the same geographic area.

To provide a local holding facility for Persons Awaiting Deportation (PAD).

2.3.2 Long-Term Prison

To provide a national top end facility for LTPs approaching the end of their sentence.