THE governor of Scotland’s largest prison has warned it faces a “catastrophic failure” if the completion date for the 140-year-old jail’s replacement is pushed back further.
HMP Barlinnie was ruled to no longer be fit for purpose in 2020, with a new jail initially set to open in 2025 to replace it, but the deadline has now been pushed back to 2027.
The Glasgow jail is running at 140% capacity with just under 1400 prisoners when it was designed for 987, according to governor Michael Stoney.
The state-of-the-art replacement is expected to include a reduction in the size of housing blocks from 30 to 20 and will see football pitches and en-suite cells introduced.
READ MORE: Tory by-election candidate branded 'hypocrite' over GRR tweet
In April, First Minister Humza Yousaf said he would investigate an estimated £300 million overspend on the replacement HMP Glasgow.
But Stoney said the current prison cannot handle more delays.
He told the BBC: “This prison can’t last that much longer. The infrastructure fails constantly.
“At some point, it may be a catastrophic failure, by then it’s too late. We know that day is coming.
“A lot of my time is just trying to keep the prison functional. If dates like building and completion stretch further, then the risk gets greater year on year.”
An inspection in 2020 found overcrowding at the notorious prison could be in breach of UN human rights agreements.
Stoney also highlighted issues with the prison’s ability to prevent strong drugs from being smuggled in, keeping enemy prisoners separate, and staff assaults.
The governor said the new prison could lead to a 20% reduction in re-offending due to increased rehabilitation services.
READ MORE: Labour call for greater 'use of private sector' in NHS care
He said: “I have made bold inferences that we would reduce reoffending by the people that pass through our doors by about 20%.
“That’s because, if we are confident in our capacity and the professionalism of our staff and the care and compassion they have, they will make a huge difference if given the time.
“We have to be bold about it – we are getting a big investment and we have to be bold by saying we’ll give you a big return.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel