This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Cornton Vale Prison report published
19/11/2002
An inspection report into HM Prison & YOI Cornton Vale by Her Majesty's former Chief Inspector of Prisons, Clive Fairweather was published today.
The intermediate report, carried out in September, describes a prison with relatively safe and decent conditions for Scotland's female prisoners despite high prisoner numbers and high levels of staff sickness
Commenting on the report Mr Fairweather said:
"Cornton Vale continues to impress as an environment where considerable progress has been made in improving the overall safety of prisoners, especially in the upgraded Health Centre. A generally decent environment is being provided for most prisoners, and staff.
"Nevertheless at the time of my report I found exceptionally high numbers meant that at times electronic access to toilets was switched off and as a result women were sometimes required to request the presence of a member of staff before the room door is unlocked. Women might have to wait up to an hour or more and we believe that sinks in some cells are being used as toilets, which is unacceptable.
"High prisoner numbers have also been impacting, generally, on all aspects of the establishment's work and may be a factor in the high levels of assaults which have been steadily increasing over the last four years. Tragically, there have been three recent deaths in the prison.
"Staff - prisoner relationships were good, although yet again high numbers, combined with staff shortages, have had an impact on basic communication, contact between the two and access to and quality of regime.
"The prison also needs to hasten work on a co-ordinated Drugs Strategy which is likely to have considerable effects across the establishment.
"The overall impression gained was that high prisoner numbers had stalled the prison in a number of areas, leading to a comparatively limited regime. To help reduce the numbers in Cornton Vale, arrangements are currently being made to transfer up to 55 women to HMP Greenock. While that is unavoidable at present, the fundamental issue is the number of petty offenders who are sent to prison in the first place. I believe that must be addressed generally, and consideration also given, for example, to putting in place mechanisms for the early release of selected prisoners on electronic monitoring.
"Since the inspection our inquiries have indicated that the issue of access to toilets has been addressed by the Scottish Prison Service."
Commenting after publishing the report, Justice Minister Jim Wallace said that he recognised the problems caused at all Scottish prisons by overcrowding and confirmed his determination to press ahead with plans to develop more alternatives to custody to help alleviate these problems.
Mr Wallace said:
"It is clear from this report that the main difficulty facing Cornton Vale at present is the high number of women being sent there by the courts. Steps have been taken by the Scottish Prison Service to try and address these pressures by opening a facility at Greenock Prison for women offenders.
"I have repeatedly stressed that the Executive is also committed to alleviating such pressures by developing more alternatives to custody for the courts to use. There is no doubt that there are women in Cornton Vale who present no danger to public safety and indeed present a greater danger to themselves. Where appropriate, we need to find alternatives to prison that are a more effective way of tackling the offending behaviour of these women.
"These are often women with chaotic lives who often have a drug problem. We are already developing alternatives to prison such as the Drug Treatment and Testing Orders and the new Timeout Centre in Glasgow. We will continue to press ahead with these alternatives in order to help the women concerned stop offending and to relieve the pressures on our prisons.
"It is clear that a change in culture is needed to tackle the problem of women's offending and to give a renewed focus on rehabilitation and treatment rather than punishment alone. We must learn lessons from the report earlier this year by the Ministerial Group on Women Offending, building on the initiatives we have already introduced. The Executive is working with other agencies to take this report forward.
"The report from Her Majesty's Inspector also recognises some positive features at Cornton Vale. I am pleased to see that the Chief Inspector of Prisons had found most areas to be clean and that a generally decent environment was being provided for most prisoners. In particular, the comments that Cornton Vale continues to impress as an environment where considerable progress has been made in improving the overall safety of prisoners are particularly welcome. The Inspectorate also recognised that the Health Centre had been recently upgraded.
"I am also pleased that the Inspectorate noted that staff/prisoner relationships were described as good and the current Governor, through a change in the management structure of the establishment, has ensured continuity in focussing on the Correctional Excellence agenda."
Scotland's 16 penal establishments each receive a full formal inspection, on a cyclical basis, currently every 3½ - 4 years. These inspections take between a week and a fortnight depending on the size and complexity of the establishment. During the intervening periods intermediate inspections are carried out on an annual basis. This intermediate report on Cornton Vale is unusual in that it contains recommendations, only the second time that this has occurred during an intermediate.
The Inspectorate examines all aspects of the establishment from the point of view of safety, decency and the establishment's contribution to crime prevention, while having proper regard to security, discipline and control. The Inspectorate also takes account of policies and concepts applying to the Scottish Prison Service. The Chief Inspector comments on general trends in an Annual Report to the Scottish Ministers which is laid before the Scottish Parliament and published.