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Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, Dr Andrew McLellan today published his latest report which follows a short, focused, inspection of HMP Peterhead in June.

During this short inspection the announcement was made of the building of a new prison, HMP Grampian, on the site of Peterhead. Uncertainty about the future of the prison has thus been ended, although building will not start for some time.

The main findings of Dr McLellan's report are:

• The cellular accommodation is the worst in the SPS and a form of slopping out still exists
• There are very limited opportunities to engage in purposeful work or activities
• Some small improvements have been made to the visits facility and prisoners are often able to have visits over and above their statutory entitlement. However, the visits room itself is very small and cramped and the catering facilities for visitors are poor
• There is no formal ongoing training for visit staff on child protection
• The number of prisoners completing the 'SOTP' programme, designed specifically to tackle sex offending behaviour, has increased slightly. However, there are long waiting lists and demand is not being met. As a consequence high risk prisoners may be returned to the community on completion of their sentence without having addressed their sex offending behaviour
• Some improvements have been made to health care provision and the service available to prisoners is now much better. Addiction services have been introduced. However, there is no full time mental health or addictions nurse and the arrangements for administering some medications gives cause for concern

Dr McLellan said:

"Uncertainty about the future of the prison has now been ended. Previous reports have commented on the damage done to HMP Peterhead by continuing uncertainty. One aspect of that damage has been the lack of investment over the last five years at least. Now that a new prison has been announced, it is even less likely that more money will be spent on the existing building: yet its condition continues to deteriorate and prisoners continue to live in it.

"The continuing use of chemical toilets is the most obvious sign of lack of investment in the prison building. Peterhead is the only prison in the United Kingdom where prisoners have no access to toilets when locked in their cells. Its continuation remains the worst single feature of prisons in Scotland.

"During the inspection 30 prisoners who should have been at work in the woodworking workshops had not been there for some weeks and would continue not to be at work for weeks. The closure of the workshops can be traced directly to the dilapidated state of the building. This is because the hinges on a gate have rusted through, and the gate cannot be opened. A lorry essential to the workshop cannot enter and the workshop cannot operate.

"Even if this is an exceptional circumstance, access to work still is limited. There are prisoners who have no job; and there are prisoners who have a job but do not always have the opportunity to go to it; and there are prisoners who go to work but do nothing when they are there. Prisoners in Peterhead can spend long hours locked up in their cells doing nothing.

"Previous reports have criticised the preparation for release of prisoners at Peterhead. The criticism has been - and continues to be - in two forms. One is the absence of community placements which would allow some testing in the community before prisoners are released. The other is about the small number of prisoners who participate in the 'SOTP' programme: the programme designed to address the offending behaviour of sex offenders. The number of places on the SOTP programme available at Peterhead can do nothing to address the number of prisoners waiting to participate. Prisoners who have been convicted of serious sex offences are the very prisoners who should get the best possible preparation for release. They are still the prisoners who get the worst preparation for release.

"There is a noticeable improvement in health care. Staffing difficulties have been addressed and the morale of both nursing and medical staff is high. Nurse led clinics ensure proper provision for prisoners with chronic diseases: this provision is well supported by residential staff."

Today's report relates to a short follow-up inspection of Peterhead prison, with a focus on the conditions in which prisoners live and on the way prisoners are treated.

Related Information

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/09/10111659/0