Inspectors have described Scotland’s notorious HMP Barlinnie as being in a “wretchedly poor state” while operating at 30% over capacity.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) is “strongly” urging the Scottish government to do more to tackle the “fundamental problem” of overcrowding at the nation’s largest jail.
HMIPS noted the 143-year-old facility regularly houses more than 1,300 inmates despite its design capacity for 987.
Replacement jail HMP Glasgow is set to be built in the city’s Provanmill district and will be able to hold 1,344 prisoners.
However, the delayed £1bn development is not expected to open until 2028.
HMIPS said: “The need for a replacement prison through the planned new HMP Glasgow remains overwhelming and urgent.”
It carried out a week-long inspection at Barlinnie in November and also found nearly two thirds of prisoners were sharing cells designed for one person.
Its report – published on Tuesday – highlighted a pre-inspection survey which revealed 55% of inmates had witnessed staff members “abusing, bullying, threatening, or assaulting another prisoner”.
HMIPS said: “Inspectors never witnessed any unacceptable behaviour and indeed observed staff engaging prisoners in cheerful but respectful light-hearted banter, but these results were worse than for other closed prisons and gave serious cause for concern.
“We encourage the prison to reflect further on the survey findings.”
In a bid to tackle overcrowding, MSPs last year passed legislation so that prisoners sentenced to less than four years will be released after serving 40% of their sentence as opposed to the previous 50%.
HMIPS noted: “Overcrowding makes it harder to access basic entitlements.
“It also makes it harder for staff to build and retain positive relationships, and the additional daily transactional work in dealing with more prisoners than a prison is designed to accommodate can put a strain on services and relationships.”
As a result of the overcrowding, the inspection found a shortage of employment opportunities and long waiting lists to access work.
It also found lengthy waiting lists for addiction and alcohol recovery services.
HMIPS said it was “pleasing to see” that the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) had completely refurbished the reception area.
The health centre had also been “reconfigured and modernised”, while the introduction of a new resource hub where inmates can seek the help of external agencies, access the library, or play snooker or pool was said to be an “impressive development”.
Additionally, a Healthy Dads, Healthy Kids (HDHK) initiative – where locked up fathers are allowed to play with their children and enjoy family meals – was also singled out for praise.
HMIPS said although Barlinnie “proved to be a better place than we expected from our pre-inspection survey”, it highlighted its 2019 report which identified Letham Hall as being in a “state of disrepair”.
Letham Hall houses prisoners serving life sentences and long-term prison terms.
HMIPS added: “Five years later, despite some refurbishment, it remained in a wretchedly poor state.”
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The SPS welcomed the report. A spokesperson said: “The Scottish Prison Service takes a zero-tolerance approach to bullying and, while we note inspectors did not witness bullying but rather found staff to be engaging and respectful to people in the care of HMP Barlinnie, we are not complacent and are committed to developing a new strategy later this year after drawing on external expertise.
“We have been managing an extremely high and complex population for more than a year, and this puts pressure on everyone living and working in our establishments.
“Staff work hard to maximise opportunities for rehabilitation, education, and other activities out of cells, to support people’s personal journeys, reduce the risk of reoffending, and help create safer communities.
“However, this is challenging given the population pressures faced.”
Justice Secretary Angela Constance welcomed the inspectorate’s finding that Barlinnie is a “safe, stable, well-run prison”.
She added: “Like the rest of the UK, we continue to experience a significant rise in the prison population, and we have taken actions to tackle this which were essential to improve conditions within prisons.
“Whilst prison will always be appropriate for those who present the greatest risk to the public, our longstanding aim is to encourage more widespread use of community disposals where appropriate.
“We are investing an additional £25m over two years to support community justice services to further strengthen alternatives to custody, which can be more effective in reducing reoffending than short term custodial sentences.”
