THE processes surrounding the suicide of a young woman at Polmont Young Offenders Institution three years ago have taken too long, Scotland’s Solicitor General has said, adding that steps have been taken to make sure that progress is made.
Ruth Charteris QC was speaking after meeting Linda and Stuart Allan, whose daughter Katie took her own life amid allegations that she was subject to bullying at the institution, near Falkirk.
Her parents said the 21-year-old lost more than 80% of her hair because of the state of her mental health.
She was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment after being convicted of knocking down a 15-year-old boy while drink driving. His parents have supported the Allans’ call for change in Scotland’s prison system.
Katie’s family met the Solicitor General today, along with their lawyer Aamer Anwar, who issued a statement afterwards.
“The family welcomed the meeting with the new Solicitor General this morning, they said she was he first law officer to date to have shown them genuine empathy,” said Anwar.
“The Solicitor General had no hesitation in apologising for the delays and stating that it should never have taken over three years to try and reach a decision in Katie’s case.
“We submitted a victim’s right to review the Crown Office decision not to prosecute in October 2020, whilst the decision is not imminent, the family were assured that regardless of what happened in the past, that this case would now be treated with the utmost urgency.
“A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) cannot take place until a decision is made on whether a prosecution of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) will take place or not.”
The family are arguing that the SPS should have been prosecuted under the Corporate Manslaughter & Corporate Homicide Act 2007, but to date they have had no response.
Before today’s meeting, Anwar said the family would be telling Charteris they believed the FAI taking place several years after Katie’s death was “not fit for purpose”.
He said: “Memories fade, cover-ups take place, and even when an FAI concludes their recommendations are not binding, words of condolences are expressed, no lessons are learned and more suicides will take place with the same excuses offered years later.
“For over three years the SPS has hid behind the mantra of ‘it is not appropriate to comment as there will be an FAI’, that is because they can rely on a flawed FAI guaranteed not to apportion blame.
“They can rely on the fact that an overwhelming majority of families are unrepresented at FAIs.
“The Allans, like many other families before them and since, have seen a system that operates in a culture of secrecy which is not interested in learning lessons or accepting responsibility.”
The lawyer said that since 2004 in England and Wales, the Prisons and Probations Ombudsman (PPO) has investigated all deaths in prisons.
“It is informed immediately of all deaths and its staff have a deadline of 26 weeks to compile a draft report on the circumstances of each, which goes both to the relevant coroner ahead of an inquest and to the next of kin,” he said.
“When the proceedings are complete every Ombudsman’s report is published on its website.
“There is only one place to look. This still does not happen in Scotland.”
Anwar added: “Katie was not the first and sadly she will not be the last suicide, but today is about seeking answers.
“Katie’s family deserve the right to be told whether the Crown Office will prosecute the SPS or not, their treatment to date has been cruel and has simply compounded their grief.”
Campaigners said the level of preventable deaths in Scottish prisons is still “horrific” despite political pledges to address systemic failures.
Linda Allan, who has been involved in researching prison deaths since her daughter died in June 2018, said that despite the rhetoric, not enough had been done to tackle them and claimed transparency had still not been adequately improved.
Charteris QC said after meeting the family: “I would like to thank Linda and Stuart Allan for meeting with me and for sharing their experiences.
“I was able to update them on the investigation into Katie’s death and I listened carefully to what they had to say.
“The processes around this investigation have taken too long and I have taken steps to ensure that progress is made and that there is meaningful communication with the Allan family.”
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