SPS Factsheet - Scottish Prison Service

Protecting the public,
reducing re-offending
Edinburgh: Edinburgh Prison is classed as a local or
community prison and receives prisoners from the courts
in Edinburgh and the Lothians and Borders areas. The prison
holds both adult male and female prisoners as well as male
under-21 who are on remand. The prison has recently
completed an extensive reconstruction and modernisation
programme.
Glenochil: Glenochil prison is in central Scotland and holds
long-term adult male prisoners with High, Medium and Low
supervision security classifications. Prisoners are not
committed to HMP Glenochil direct from the courts but are
admitted, following conviction, from other prisons, principally
Barlinnie and Edinburgh.
Greenock: Greenock serves designated courts in the West
of Scotland by holding male prisoners (both adult and
under 21s) on remand, and short-term convicted prisoners.
It provides a national facility for selected prisoners serving
12 years or over, affording them the opportunity for
progression towards release. It also accommodates a
small number of prisoners for a range of management and
operational reasons and has recently held young offenders
and women prisoners.
Inverness: Inverness Prison, known locally as Porterfield,
serves the Courts of the Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney
Isles and Moray, providing secure custody for all remand
prisoners and short term adult prisoners. It also holds a
small number of long-term prisoners, prior to classification,
on accumulated visits, or to support the operational needs
of the SPS.
Kilmarnock: The prison is a closed mainstream high security
establishment, which operates a similar regime to that
available elsewhere, including Shotts, Glenochil and Perth.
It accommodates male adult prisoners – remands, short-term
and long-term - and male young offender remands. The prison
was the first in Scotland to be operated by the private sector.
Open Estate: HMP Castle Huntly and HMP Noranside jointly
make up the Open Estate. Both focus on providing employment
training and transitional/through-care for prisoners working
towards a structured reintegration into society. Both are
open prisons holding low supervision adult male prisoners
serving 18 months and over, including life sentence
prisoners, who have been assessed as suitable to serve
part of their sentence in open conditions.
Perth: Perth holds short term (less than four years) local
adult male prisoners, including fine defaulters, and those
on remand from Tayside and Fife, including Kirkcaldy and
Dunfermline courts. The establishment also accommodates
in secure conditions long-term adult male prisoners
including high supervision prisoners who are serving
sentences of up to life imprisonment.
Peterhead: The prison’s population includes those who
require high supervision. It is a national resource for convicted,
long term sex offenders offering a range of programmes
designed to challenge offending behaviour in order to
reduce the risk of reoffending on return to the community. Polmont: The establishment holds the majority of male
young offenders in Scotland. It has prisoners of all supervision
levels. The prison delivers a wide range of education services.
It is the subject of investment to rebuild its infrastructure and
modify the establishment.
Shotts: This is a maximum-security prison in Lanarkshire
for long term adult male prisoners. It caters for long term
male prisoners (sentences of 4 years and over) who require
to be kept in secure conditions. Shotts includes two national
facilities: the National Induction Centre where prisoners who
are in the initial stages of sentences of 8 years or over and
are prepared for eventual movement to mainstream
establishments, and Kerr House offering low supervision
prisoners a less structured and regimented regime and
preparation for release.
An introduction to the Scottish Prison Service
www.sps.gov.uk
which give prisoners the best chance to reduce re-offending
on their return to the community.
As a public services agency SPS runs a number of operational
services to implement the strategic objectives and policies
of the Scottish Government.
To deliver these SPS agrees a service framework with each
public sector prison. It also manages private sector providers
of prisons and custodial services under contract arrangements
which are closely monitored.
BACKGROUND
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) was established in April
1993 as an executive agency of the Scottish Office headed
by a chief executive. Following devolution the chief executive
reports to Scottish Ministers who are responsible to the
Scottish Parliament for the prison system in Scotland.
The SPS has a huge investment programme to modernise
the prison estate. With investment funds from the Scottish
Government, SPS has announced plans to replace prisons
at Aberdeen and Peterhead with a new HMP Grampian.
Additionally a new Low Moss prison at Bishopbriggs is to
be built. At Shotts a new prison is being built adjacent to
the existing prison. The prisons at Edinburgh, Perth,
Polmont and Glenochil are involved in major infrastructure
improvements and SPS is working with local authorities to
identify potential sites for new prisons in Inverclyde (to
replace Greenock) and Highland (to replace Inverness).
•
•
•
The chief executive is supported by an Executive Board
comprising executive directors accountable to the chief
executive for their areas of responsibility and non-executive
directors with specific areas of expertise appointed by
Scottish Ministers.
Scottish prisons’ staff will deliver their difficult work
for society with professionalism and skill.
SPS will work in partnership with other organisations
in the public, private and voluntary sectors that deliver
services to offenders and play a full role in the
integration of offender management services.
SPS will deliver value for money and competitive
public sector costs.
The SPS has around 4,000 staff. There are 15 establishments
in Scotland and in addition the SPS operates a training
college and a central stores facility holding and supplying
equipment and supplies to prisons.
Aims
SCOTTISH PRISON SERVICE VISION
•
To keep in custody those committed by the courts
•
To maintain good order in each prison
•
To care for prisoners with humanity
•
Caring for the safety and wellbeing of prisoners and staff.
•
To encourage prisoners to take opportunities hich will
reduce the likelihood they re-offend and reintegrate
them back into their community.
Reducing re-offending
SPS aims to be recognised as a leader in offender
management services for prisoners that help reduce
re-offending and offer value for money for the taxpayer.
Protecting the public
SPS will maintain secure custody and good order. It will
care for offenders with humanity and provide them with
appropriate opportunities.
Action
SPS aims to ensure that:
•
www.sps.gov.uk
•
It will deliver an estate fit for purpose and the 21st
century.
It will deliver offender management services,
programmes and activities which address the causes
offending and re-offending and work to improve the
outcomes for offenders.
The aim or mission statement of the Scottish Prison
Service is:
ACTIVITIES
The SPS is legally required to deliver custodial services for
all those sent to it by the courts. Its purpose is to maintain
secure custody and good order within prisons whilst caring
for prisoners with humanity and delivering opportunities
PETERHEAD
INVERNESS
There are currently 13 publicly-managed prisons and two
privately-managed prisons (HMP Kilmarnock and HMP
Addiewell). Prisoner escort and court custody services are
also currently privately provided and monitored by SPS.
ABERDEEN
NORANSIDE
CASTLE HUNTLY
PERTH
CORNTONVALE
GLENOCHIL
COLLEGE
POLMONT
GREENOCK
BARLINNIE
SHOTTS
HEADQUARTERS
EDINBURGH
ADDIEWELL
CENTRAL STORES
KILMARNOCK
DUMFRIES
The SPS publishes an annual report in which it outlines its
performance over a financial year. In addition to its financial
report and accounts, it contains measured performance
against targets set by Ministers. The report is laid before
the Scottish Parliament.
The annual report also publishes other relevant information
on areas such as the prison population and staff numbers.
The SPS also publishes a number of research reports
including an extensive survey on the views of prisoners on
the operation of the service and its impact on them.
Scotland has one of the highest prison populations per head
in Western Europe and it has been steadily rising. The
average prison population over the past five years was:
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
7,183
7,376
7,835
7,967
7,853
In September 2011 the prison population reached 8219 in
custody and an additional 395 on home detention curfew
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons is responsible for inspecting
and reporting on all penal establishments. HMCIP will look
at, and report on, the conditions of the prisons, the
treatment of prisoners and any other matter that Ministers
direct HMCIP to look at. The Inspectorate is independent
of the SPS and reports directly to Scottish Ministers.
HMCIP reports are published and these can be found on
the Scottish Government website
(www.scotland.gov.uk).
List of establishments:
Aberdeen: Local prison serving the North East of Scotland
and the Northern Isles. It accommodates male remand
prisoners and adults serving up to four years.
Addiewell: Opened in December 2008 and is privately-run.
It is the local prison for the North and South Lanarkshire
Courts. It accepts adult male convicted and untried prisoner
admissions (including under 21-year old remands) from
these courts.
Barlinnie: Largest prison in Scotland serving the West of
Scotland. It is a local prison which retains adult male remand
prisoners and prisoners serving less than four years. It can
also hold prisoners serving four years or more in the initial
stages of their sentence until places become available
elsewhere.
Cornton Vale: Cornton Vale is near Stirling and provides
custodial facilities for remand and sentenced women
(including young offenders) in all sentence ranges and
supervision levels. Its facilities include including 24 spaces
within independent living units adjacent to the prison grounds
for appropriate women nearing the end of their sentence.
There are also seven mother and baby spaces available inside
the prison.
Dumfries: Dumfries Prison serves the courts of Dumfries
and Galloway. It holds prisoners who are remanded in custody
and those convicted but remanded for reports. Dumfries
Prison also provides a national mainstream facility for holding
offence-related protection prisoners who are long-term and
short-term prisoners who require to be separated from
mainstream prisoners because of the nature of their offence.
www.sps.gov.uk