The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies recently organised three workshops in HMP Barlinnie on Abuse, mental health and self-harm, Activities, work and education and Resolving disputes in prison, security, and the use of force. Corresponding workshops were also undertaken in HMP Grendon, which this publication also reports.

The Barlinnie section makes for sobering reading, however. It is prison life from the perspective of those men imprisoned. It presents an atmosphere suffused with fear, high levels of anxiety and mistrust. The regime is described as being beleaguered with long waits for medical treatment, long lock-up times, cold food, inflexible visiting times, doubled-up cells. 

HLS maintains that these problems will not be resolved by simply building a new prison. While modern facilities are welcomed, the issues of prison atmosphere and quality of day-to-day prison life rest in the regime, access to services, staff-prisoner relations, purposeful activity and family visits – all of which are undermined by the acute levels of overcrowding at Barlinnie. The other prison in this report, HMP Grendon, which was built in the middle of the last century is described as exceptional by prisoners there due to its services and regime – despite the buildings age. While bricks and mortar reform is one thing, SPS and the government must address the pressing need for qualitative regime reform and tackle the overcrowding in Barlinnie.

Read the report here: Perspectives from inside: A report from HMP Grendon and HMP Barlinnie | Centre for Crime and Justcie Studies | March 2015