FOREWORD BY THE SECRETARY OF STATE

I welcome Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons’ Annual Report for 1996-97.

I am glad that the Chief Inspector acknowledges the considerable effort made by Scottish Prison Service management and staff during a year in which the prisoner population reached record levels and overcrowding was acute in a number of prisons. The public have a right to be protected from dangerous offenders and the Scottish Prison Service fulfilled that crucial role extremely effectively during the year.

The Chief Inspector proposes that there should be a review of the policy and practices in respect of the custody of remand prisoners. Prison is a necessary part of the criminal justice system and there is often no alternative to a custodial sentence, but the Government is committed to the development of a network of supervised and supported accommodation as part of the provision of community based criminal justice services. This will include 24 hour supervised hostel facilities for high risk offenders who would otherwise be held in custody, including those remanded on bail either before conviction or between conviction and sentencing. The first of these hostels will open in Dundee around the end of this year. It will have some accommodation for both men and women on bail.

The Chief Inspector also refers to overcrowding and drug abuse. I share his concerns on both fronts. The question of how to provide enough accommodation to meet projected prisoner numbers is being addressed and a number of initiatives are in hand, including the provision of a new prison at Kilmarnock and an additional houseblock at Edinburgh. I have also made it clear that I do not propose to implement the early release provisions in the Crime and Punishment (Scotland) Act 1997 in their present form.

The Chief Inspector emphasises the considerable difficulties faced by the Scottish Prison Service in tackling drug abuse and its associated problems and acknowledges the positive measures being taken by prisons to help prisoners adopt a drug-free lifestyle. Random mandatory drug testing was introduced in all prisons during 1996-97, and I agree that consideration should be given to providing incentives to prisoners who remain drug free. The Government would also like to see voluntary drug testing in every prison for prisoners ready to prove they are drug-free. There are already drug-free zones in several establishments and I have asked the Chief Executive to consider how such provision might be extended within the resources likely to be available to the Scottish Prison Service over the next two to three years.

Throughcare is important if a drug-free lifestyle is to be maintained in the community. Extensive links have been established with community-based drug agencies to provide continuing support for prisoners on release. Individual prisons liaise with Drug Action Teams in their area. The Scottish Drugs Forum is also continuing to work on a funded project to develop best practice in throughcare for prisoners and their families. I fully support the Chief Inspector’s call for a co-ordinated approach to funding arrangements. The provisions for contractual arrangements between SPS and local authority social work departments are one way to maximise the effectiveness of public expenditure.

The management and staff of the Scottish Prison Service carry out an important and often thankless task on behalf of the public and I am grateful to them and HMCIP for their contribution to the effective functioning of the criminal justice system.

The Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service will respond direct to Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons on the relevant detailed points of note.

31 July 1997