Delays to new HMP Highland prison in Inverness 'would be deeply troubling', Scottish Prison Service is warned
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Any delay in the construction of a replacement prison in Inverness "would be deeply troubling", the chief inspector of prisons in Scotland has warned.
Wendy Sinclair-Gieben issued the stark warning in her annual report into the state of the prisons estate in the country.
She stressed her hope that "development of the new prison is not inhibited by the budgetary pressures facing the Scottish Prison Service".
And she added that issues with the existing Victorian prison at Porterfield would have been "more vociferously highlighted" in her annual report if it were not for the work on the new site – a point she made to highlight the importance that Porterfield's replacement proceed as swiftly as possible.
She has also called for improvements to the existing prison while waiting for the new site to go live, adding: "We fully understand that local management will be focussed on planning for the new prison, but we nevertheless highlight a number of areas where improvements are needed to the existing prison and some modest additional investment is required to existing facilities."
These improvements include the need to tackle a lack of privacy for prisoners being searched in reception, as well as other privacy issues such as insufficient places where confidential conversations can be held.
Related: 120-year-old Inverness Prison fails to meet modern standards says inspector
She also warned that "cells being used as doubles were too small for double occupancy and breached international standards on minimum space dimensions".
Work on the new prison is under way on land next to the Inverness Campus, but costs for the facility have rocketed in recent years – with a freedom of information request last autumn revealing that its cost had jumped to almost £140 million, or nearly three times its original budget.
In the months since then, its importance as a replacement for Porterfield was highlighted once again after inspectors warned that the ageing site was "ill-suited to the requirements of a modern prison system" – despite praise for the staff's compassion and communication.
These concerns over the existing prison were highlighted once again in Ms Sinclair-Gieben's report this week, where she also flagged up the lack of accessible cells.
But she also praised the on-site staff, adding: "Staff/prisoner relationships were always friendly, respectful, and supportive. There was a strong management team and a strong staff group, with positive relationships between them and with their partner agencies."
However, she also raised concerns over staffing levels at the existing prison, and urged the Scottish Prison Service to recruit extra staff "well ahead of the planned opening" of the new HMP Highland prison in Inverness, stressing the importance of providing "opportunities for staff, who have only ever known an old Victorian prison, to gain experience of working in a modern prison" to ensure a smooth transition when the new site finally goes live.
Further highlighting staffing levels, she added: "It was disturbing to hear those prisoners arriving at the prison between 5.30pm and 6.30pm were having to wait inside a prison van until the staff break had finished.
"Staff shortages and a return to the core day were impacting on the ability to run a full regime, but we would still like to see more pace in the return to pre-pandemic norms. The prison based social work team was struggling with staffing shortages and changes in personnel; Highland Council and the SPS need to work together to ensure the team is better supported."
She made her comments amid a wider warning that Scotland's prisons are too overcrowded and this was leading to problems assessing prisoners' risks and needs while incarcerated – and in turn leading to higher reoffending rates upon their release.
She said: "While some progress has undeniably taken place, several of my recommendations have also been made repeatedly.
"There is one particular issue that I and my predecessors have consistently reported on: the entrenched issue of overcrowding in Scotland’s prisons. Put simply, we send far too many people to prison for the limited accommodation and resourcing available to achieve rehabilitative change.
"The reason I and my predecessors have focussed strongly on overcrowding is that it affects every part of the criminal justice system, in particular the risk to the community. If individuals do not have their risks and needs addressed in prison, the rate of recidivism will remain high, and at significant cost to the public purse."
