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Kilmarnock Prison overcrowding concern |
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Wednesday, 02 April 2008 |
Privately operated Kilmarnock Prison is the fourth most overcrowded jail in the Scottish system, leading to prisoners sharing cells and a reduction in the amount of time they can spend out of their cells, according to a report by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, Dr Andrew McLellan.
While highlighting the costs of overcrowding, McLellan did praise Kilmarnock for improvements made in relationships between staff and prisoners, and efforts made to provide remand prisoners with access to education facilities.
McLellan said:
“In its early years after opening in 1999 Kilmarnock was protected from overcrowding. It is now the fourth most overcrowded prison in Scotland. There are 500 cells: on the first day of inspection there were 635 prisoners living there. The harm done by overcrowding, can be seen throughout this report. Many prisoners share cells. Some prisoners prefer not to be alone; but for many it is a stressful experience to be locked in a small space night after night, week after week, with a stranger who might well have a violent past. The lack of privacy is almost complete and cells are cramped. The accommodation is beginning to show signs of wear and tear, although the prison is still clean.
“On the other hand, and despite overcrowding, this report shows that Kilmarnock is a safer prison than once it was. There has been no serious violence upon members of staff since June 2004. Prisoner-on-prisoner violence has shown a steep decline since 2003, despite one very serious incident in June 2006. Prisoners and staff alike said that they felt safe. Perhaps the most important reason for this may be a very noticeable change in the way staff engage with prisoners. It was clear that there has been a marked shift towards more and more positive interaction between staff and prisoners. The more staff know prisoners and the more prisoners know staff the more possible it is to create the conditions which lead to safer prisons.”
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