PRISONERS are being set up to fail upon release, according to Scotland’s chief inspector of prisons who also claimed jails cannot prevent them reoffending on their own.
Launching his annual report, David Strang said inmates were frequently leaving prison with less than £10 a week to survive on, often without health care or even a place to live when they return to the community.
While serving their sentences, many are finding it difficult to access programmes designed to tackle their offending behaviour, he said. Meanwhile use of Scotland’s open prison, HMP Castle Huntly, to help prepare prisoners for release, has fallen by 15 per cent in a year.
As a result, Mr Strang’s report claims there is “a lot of work to do” to improve rehabilitation in Scotland’s criminal justice system.
The chief inspector also raised concerns over the number of prisoners held on remand ahead of court proceedings and about the number of women in custody.
The report also noted that just under 7,500 people were detained in Scotland’s prisons at the end of March, down slightly on the previous year.
However, Mr Strang predicted a growing number of older prisoners – those serving longer sentences and those convicted of sexual offences – will continue to heap pressure on the system.
Scotland has much to be proud of when it comes to its jails and the treatment of its prisoners, Mr Strang said as he highlighted the good condition of buildings, well-motivated staff, and respectful relationships between staff and inmates.
But in a statement accompanying the release of the report, he said: “However, if prisons are about more than just punishment there is a lot of work to do to ensure that rehabilitation is a core outcome for the criminal justice system."
Mr Strang said the standard liberation grant of £58 did not go very far for prisoners who have to wait six weeks to access benefits under Universal Credit. And he found that accessing suitable accommodation is one of the biggest difficulties for people leaving prison.
He added: “The most problematic ones, perhaps with addiction, drugs or mental health problems, are the least likely to have made arrangements for release. But you can predict where that is going to end up.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We welcome the inspector’s recognition that our prisons are generally well run and stable, with key Scottish Government priorities - as part of key rehabilitation work - all highlighted as successes.”
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