This week’s new report from HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland (HMCIPS) has identified ‘serious concerns’ with overcrowding and staff shortages in Scottish prisons.
The combination of short-staffing and overcrowding in Scottish prisons is a clear risk to safety.
Gavin Miller, Community’s National Officer for the Justice and Custodial sector, said:
“The new report from HMCIPS highlights how the prisons system in Scotland has been stretched to breaking point over recent years. As the report emphasises, our prison officer members on the frontline are continuing to do their job diligently and with compassion, but their ability to provide quality services is severely impacted by the pressures they are facing, with the dual issues of overcrowding and under-staffing creating a perfect storm of conditions.
“Our main concern is the impact this will have on our members’ wellbeing, particularly as we have seen a correlation between overcrowding and a rise in assaults on prison staff. As well as long-term action to reduce overcrowding, we need to see the introduction of minimum staffing levels in our prisons, improved incentives for the recruitment and retention of experienced staff, and tougher responses to assaults on prison officers.”
Steve Farrell, Community’s Regional Secretary for Scotland, said:
“The new HMCIPS report makes for worrying reading, and chimes with the accounts of our members on the frontline in prisons about the historic pressures they are facing in the course of their duties. There is no doubt that their safety is being compromised every day by the conditions in our prisons.
“The twinned problems of prison overcrowding and short-staffing are not unique to Scotland, but that should not serve as an excuse for the Scottish Government to spurn opportunities to tackle those issues here. On the issue of overcrowding, we know that SNP ministers have put political dogma ahead of public safety in the past, rejecting offers from companies who would have paid for art-of-art facilities to relieve some of the pressure on the system. As we’ve emphasised before, the debate about private prisons versus public prisons is totally irrelevant when it comes to addressing immediate, pressing needs.
“The safety of our members – and the general public – should remain the number one priority for all stakeholders.”
Community’s ‘Keep Us Safe’ campaign calls for an overhaul of conditions in prisons to address the risks staff face. You can read more on the campaign here.
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