TWO mini prisons for women are to be opened by 2020 as part of a radical reform in how the Scottish justice system deals with female offenders.
The community custody units will be built in Glasgow’s Maryhill and Dundee, and will each hold 20 low-risk inmates.
The move was announced yesterday by the Scottish Government and follows a long-running campaign by penal reform and feminist groups calling for more support to be given to women who offend. It follows research that suggests women are often struggling against complex problems relating to drug and alcohol addictions and mental health issues.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said the units would aid rehabilitation by holding prisoners closer to their homes.
The development comes just weeks after work began on the demolition of Scotland’s national female prison, HMP Cornton Vale in Stirling, which had been hit by a series of negative inspection reports and a series of suicides dating back to the 1990s. It was also the focus of criticism by Dame Elish Angiolini in her 2012 Commission of Women Offenders report, in which she described it as “not fit for purpose”.
After Angiolini’s report was published ministers initially planned to replace Cornton Vale with a new £75 million women’s prison in Greenock, but Matheson scrapped the plan in 2015 after fresh warnings by campaigners.
They said the new “super prison” would be at risk of replicating the problems experienced at Cornton Vale by virtue of continuing to lock up vulnerable women who posed little risk. Currently, the Scottish Prison Service is developing plans for a smaller prison for about 80 women at the Stirling site.
Yesterday Matheson told Holyrood that there was an increasing shift in favour of community sentences. He said that was why the Scottish Government wanted a presumption against prison sentences of 12 months or less.
“There will always be cases where the court rightly takes the view that a prison sentence is absolutely justified, but for those who do end up in custody, we must think beyond bricks and mortar,” he said, paying tribute to the professionalism of Scotland’s prison staff.
However, he told MSPs that short jail terms should be imposed when they are the only suitable option – citing evidence that over half those released from a prison sentence of 12 months or less – with little scope for effective rehabilitation – are re-convicted within a year, compared to a third of those who had served a community sentence.
He said: “A just, equitable and inclusive society is one that is supported by a progressive evidence-based justice system; a system which works with communities to reduce – and ultimately prevent – further offending.
“A system which holds individuals to account for their offending, but ultimately supports them to make positive contributions to our communities.
“Over the past decade this government has taken steps to end our reliance on custody and move towards effective community sentences that enhance public safety and promote rehabilitation, and which evidence shows are more effective at reducing reoffending and thus reducing the risk of further victims.”
Labour’s Clare Baker said the presumption against a custodial sentence would be a hard sell to victims of crime and called on Matheson to ensure community options “are properly resourced”.
Tory MSP Liam Kerr questioned the effectiveness of community sentences, arguing that after a decade of the SNP the rate of reoffending has “barely shifted”.
Matheson said that the re-conviction rate was at its lowest level in 18 years and an extra £4m had been supplied for community sentence programmes.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here