RISING levels of violence in Scotland’s jails have been linked to them being “awash” with synthetic drugs – and a new report says tackling the problem should be a “priority” for the Scottish Prison Service.
It was compiled by the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) after members visited five prisons – Barlinnie, Cornton Vale, Edinburgh, Grampian and Shotts – and several police custody facilities.
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“The CPT noted the gradual rise of inter-prisoner and inmate-on-staff violence (notably in Edinburgh Prison), which was officially attributed to a combination of the increase in use of novel psychoactive substances (NPS), mental health issues and organised crime,” said the report.
Prisoners told the delegation it was “easy” to obtain drugs in prison, with synthetic drugs soaked into letters and smoked upon receipt.
The report added: “The CPT considers that tackling the increasing drugs problem should indeed be a main priority for the SPS, as the increasing flow of NPS into prisons has a huge influence on daily life in prison.”
Most prisoners said they were treated correctly by prison officers and made no allegations of deliberate ill-treatment, but the CPT criticised overcrowding, use of segregation and raised “serious concerns” over the treatment of female prisoners in segregation at Cornton Vale.
The delegation found “women who clearly were in need of urgent care and treatment in a psychiatric facility, and should not have been in a prison environment, let alone segregated for extended periods in solitary confinement”, including one who had repeatedly set fire to her hair.
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Male prisoners in a similar situation could be transferred to a high-security psychiatric facility, but there is no equivalent for women in Scotland.
The CPT found prison facilities in Scotland were not suitably equipped and staffed to deal with these vulnerable women – some of whom had been returned to prison after being sectioned having been found to have “personality disorders” rather than psychiatric illnesses. An SPS spokesperson said progress was being made with NPS using new technology being developed by Dundee University.
They added: “People think NPS are safe but they’re not. What they use one day will be completely different to what they use the next.”
Judith Robertson, chair of the Scottish Human Rights Commission, said people in police custody or prison were in a vulnerable situation.
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She added: “Like everyone, they have an absolute right to be free from cruel or degrading treatment, and to be safe from physical and mental harm.
“These rights are protected in Scotland’s domestic human rights laws and the broader international human rights obligations that we are signed up to as a country.”
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