SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

WRITTEN ANSWER

28 April 2014           

Index Heading: Learning and Justice

 Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (Scottish Liberal Democrats): To ask the Scottish Government  what provision HMP Inverclyde will make for prisoners to receive private family visits from (a) children and (b) young relatives.

(S4W-20651)

Mr Kenny MacAskill MSP:

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

“As you will be aware, HMP &YOI Inverclyde is currently in Design Phase. The Design Team’s brief is to focus on activities and play facilities that are suitable for mother and child to enjoy together. The Design Team are working towards providing a comfortable, relaxed and family/child friendly environment, designed to enhance the overall visit experience and encourage the maintenance of links with family and friends.

It is our intention that both indoor and outdoor play areas will be provided for visits with small children. The outdoor visits garden will be accessible by all visitors and additional arrangements will also be made to provide suitable activity for older children, such as access to age appropriate reading material and other suitable activities.

Once operational, it is our intention that the visit room will be used outside normal visiting times for bonding and other child visits. These arrangements will reflect the good practices already in place at HMP & YOI Cornton Vale.”

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT

• Case Study 1

The 218 is a safe and caring environment and focused on recovery:

Anna* has a long history of alcohol misuse and offending. Now at 36 she has been given a residential place in the 218 Centre. Here she has engaged with the group therapy which focuses on offending behaviour, addiction and emotions. She has also been able to work with a mental health nurse and has her own assigned key worker for more individual support.

At the beginning this was difficult as it was painful to really take a look at her problems, speaking about any past traumas and exploring why she kept reoffending. However, Anna has found the 218 a safe environment and her relationship with the staff has been fundamental in her transformation, saying that ‘It’s a safe environment because you’ve got caring staff here. You’ve got people who support you here and that makes you open up to them because you know they care’.

The 218 organised for Anna to attend a five day Venture Trust activity break where she was involved in an array of outdoor activities. Anna had never done anything like this before and found it to be one of the best experiences she ever had. Even though she was afraid of heights she even went abseiling.

Anna described herself as broken and suicidal when she first arrived at the 218, but she the last the 3 months in the 218 have been restorative and Anna feels that it has given her back her life. As a result of her transformation she has also begun to rebuild relationships with her family, with whom she had lost contact. Her family have been able to see the positive changes while in the 218 Centre.

• Case Study 2

The 218 tackles the complex needs exhibited by women offenders:

Beth first came into contact with the criminal justice system at 14. She has been in and out of prison and has also been homeless. At 36, Beth has been a resident in the 218 Project now for over four months.

She has found the 218 to be different from prison because in the 218 the focus has been on the recovery - recovery from addiction, from childhood trauma and overcoming depression. These, as is the case for so many women in the criminal justice system, are some of the underlying causes of her offending behaviour. In focusing on these the 218 aims to help Beth break her pattern of offending.  In prison she was a number, but in the 218 she feels like she is treated as a person. By the time she had arrived at the 218 Project Beth felt she had lost everything to addiction – she had no home, no contact with her family and no self-confidence.

After she arrived Beth began the group therapies, which evolve and progress over time. The first was Orientation, then Making Changes, Managing Your Offending, Managing Your Emotions and Substance Misuse, each of which can last for several weeks and it is possible to repeat any module if she felt it necessary.  Along with the group work the 218 provided her with long needed medical attention, such as dentist visits. They also helped her with her housing situation so now, when she leaves, she has a place in supported accommodation organised for the following 6 months.

Achieving graded exposure has been Beth’s peak moment in the 218. Graded exposure is when you are allowed go out on your own for the first time, first for a coffee, but the unsupervised time and activities gradually expand each subsequent week. Since then she has been allowed to attend the YWCA as well as meet her care manager alone. The feeling of being trusted by the staff gave her confidence, but she has renewed self-belief and hope through the graded exposure as Beth now knows she can be out and not use substances or offend in anyway.

• Case Study 3

218 has been a life saver:

Carol was referred to the 218 Project while on remand for a shoplifting charge in Cornton Vale. For Carol, arriving at the 218 was a release as she knew it was ‘an opportunity’ and she was eager to engage in the group work right away. The group work has helped Carol and she finds she has begun to put a lot of things in place, helping her clarify and understand some of the root causes of her offending and substance misuse, what Carol describes as the self-destruction that has been ongoing in her life.

The days at the 218 are busy and structured. There are a number of group therapies that the residents must attend during the day, but there are also a plethora of activities, such as theatre visits, walks, jewellery making, exercise,  go-karting and bingo, to name a few. However, Carol was reluctant to be involved in any of the group activities apart from those therapeutic ones. She was nervous of the larger groups and tended to isolate herself in her room at first. Noticing this, her key worker focused on this issue, addressing Carole’s anxieties and building up her self-esteem. Thanks to this encouragement and support Carol now joins in all of the activities available.

In her time as a resident at the 218 Carol has found the changes remarkable, she has become more confident and positive about her future. Carol described the 218 as a ‘life saver’.

*All names have been changed

Find about more about the 218 Service here