prison inspections

HMP Greenock Full Inspection Report

On 14 July 2023 HMIPS published its full inspection report of HMP Greenock. Whilst it praised the leadership and management of the prison, highlighting what it described as “excellent staff-prisoner relationships” it did not shy away from serious criticism of the appalling state of the building which dates from the early 1900s. There are no plans as yet to replace it, with new issues arising re the previously confirmed rebuilding of HMP Barlinnie and HMP Inverness in terms of costs and timings.

HMP Addiewell Full Inspection

On 4 May 2023 a full inspection report of HMP Addiewell was published. It found that 40% of prisoners reported that they had been abused by staff' and was described by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, as the worst findings she had encountered during her term of office. This was followed by an article on 24 May published in The Ferret which alleged that the situation was even worse than the inspection reported, going on to detail dramatic under-reporting of violence due to fear of reprisals and poor management, with instances of complaints going missing, severe staff shortages and the “covering up” of violent incidents. 

HMIPS Annual Report 2021-2022

On 11 November 2022 HMIPS published its Annual Report 2021-2022 in which it described Scotland’s prisons during the pandemic as “places of containment, rather than          rehabilitation”, questioning the equivalence of healthcare in and outside prisons, and yet again, drawing attention to serious issues of remand; overcrowding; child imprisonment; barriers to progression; and the estate’s ageing infrastructure – going so far as to moot the possibility of some prisons being closed.

HMIPS Strategic Plan 2022-2025

During November His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) published its Strategic Plan for 2022-2025 which interestingly, included a strategic objective to develop a methodology for unannounced inspections of prisons.

HMP Shotts: Full Prison Inspection

On 2 November 2022 a full inspection report of HMP Shotts from May 2022 was published. Areas of concern included: delays in progression; insufficient pre-release preparation; lack of stability in senior management positions; poor rating of patient care; staff shortages; and a high incidence of substance related issues.

For the first time it included a pilot pre-inspection survey with prisoners, which included some concerning findings e.g. 46% of respondents reported having witnessed staff abusing, threatening, bullying or assaulting another prisoner in the prison; 77% of respondents reported that the complaints system worked ‘quite’ or ‘very’ badly; and 49% of respondents did not know how contact an Independent Prison Monitor (IPM).

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