HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Report 2013-2014 Published

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Report 2013-2014 Published

The Inspector of Prisons has published his Annual Report today.

The report aims to highlight good practice which promotes prisoners’ safety, opportunity and upholds their right to humane treatment. However, the report raises a number of concerns:

  • Scotland must reduce its high use of imprisonment and promote effective community based sanctions.
  • There is a tension in using prison to both punish and rehabilitate people.
  • Ageing in prison is a growing conern and requires increaing medical resources.
  • Access to purposeful activity should be available to all prisoners, this is currently not the case across the prison system.
  • Overcrowding and doubling-up in single cells continues to hinder programmes and access to meaningful activities.
  • Prisoners being transferred must be accompanied by their records.
  • How long people spend in segregation is still a concern and will be subject to an uncoming thematic inspection.
  • Important health and background information on newly admitted prisoners is often not reported to prison staff and health officers. This problem is particularly concerning given that these first few days in prison are when a prisoner feels the most vulnerable.
  • A national policy for addressing dirty protests in Scottish prisons should be designed as a matter of urgency.

The report also makes lengthy and specific recommendations regarding Low Moss, Barlinnie, Edinburgh, Inverness and Polmont Youth Offenders Institution.

Read the full report here

Read more:

STV: Increase in dementia and disabilities as prison population ages
BBC News: Prisoner numbers still increasing despite work on over-crowding
Holyrood magazine coverage of the report launch: Prison inspectors to focus on segregation

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