HMIP Report on HM Unit

Shotts 1998

11. POINTS OF NOTE

Issues to be taken up with the Governor on subsequent visits by the Inspectorate

11.1 More effort should be made to keep the communal areas clean (paragraph 3.4).

11.2 Arrangements for regime monitoring, maintenance of standards and compliance with laid down procedures should be improved (paragraph 5.5).

11.3 All prisoners’ weekly activity sheets should be completed (paragraph 6.8).

11.4 More should be done to involve families in encouraging prisoners to address the underlying reasons for being in the Unit, particularly in relation to drugs (paragraph 6.15).

11.5 SPS security standards in respect of searching prisoners after visits should be implemented (paragraph 6.15).

11.6 In the matter of staff selection, there should be a closer adherence to the operating principles defined in the Small Units Report and a common approach adopted for selecting staff to work in small units in the SPS (paragraph 7.6).

11.7 The staff training programme should focus on the skills and attitudes required to operate in a Unit setting and should be linked to the selection process outcomes (paragraph 7.8).

11.8 The changes in the prisoners’ terms and conditions of entry into the Unit should be reflected both in the selection process and prisoner contracts (paragraph 7.13).