By Bruce Robbins

Special measures are being taken to reduce the number of abscondees from both Castle Huntly and Noranside open prisons in Tayside, the chairman of the Noranside visiting committee said yesterday.

Neil Powrie, who has chaired the committee for almost eight years, said he was confident that initiatives would start to reduce the likelihood of prisoners either fleeing the prisons or failing to return from visiting their families.

Mr Powrie was responding to calls from Conservative justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell who described the number of abscondees since April last year as “appalling.”

A total of 59 absconded and 16 are still at large.

Ms Mitchell, who has raised the issue with Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson, said greater security was needed as some prisoners concerned were murderers or convicted of crimes of violence.

She wondered if some were being “automatically” sent to the open prisons rather than earning time at the more relaxed penal establishments.

Normally, a prisoner will spend the last year of his sentence at an open prison under a policy designed to ease him back into society.

She said, “People should only progress to an open prison when they are ready to and not automatically at a certain stage of their sentence.

“It seems very much like a review is required, and we will have to see what the minister’s response to this is.”

Mrs Mitchell said she would also like to see photographs of abscondees released by police to increase the chances of their apprehension and in the interests of public safety.

However Mr Powrie, a Dundee Conservative councillor, said it would have been better had his Tory colleague contacted the Castle Huntly governor or the Scottish Prison Service before making “misleading and entirely inaccurate” comments.

Prisoners, he said, were not automatically sent to open prisons but selected after a rigorous assessment during which their prison backgrounds are disclosed.

He said, “I have had an invitation from the governor at Castle Huntly to visit the prison to see and be involved in the process of selection and I’m sure this would also be extended to Margaret Mitchell.”

Mr Powrie said, “We are dealing with individuals who, for a range of reasons, have decided not to return from home leave.

“In my experience it’s usually to do with an issue of grave concern to the prisoner.

“The governor is in daily discussions with the chief executive of the SPS and all the management team to address this problem. There are various initiatives being put in place that will address these concerns and I am satisfied there will be a significant reduction in the number of abscondees.”

Mr Powrie said he was not at liberty to speak in detail about the initiatives, but he said Castle Huntly has almost completed the installation of a CCTV system.

Drug testing of prisoners has also been speeded up so results are made known almost immediately. In the past, he said, some prisoners taking drugs had absconded because there was a lengthy delay between the test and the result and they feared being being sent back to a closed prison when a positive result was confirmed.

“There is a limit to what can be done to improve security at an open prison. You can’t build a fence around it as that defeats the purpose of an open prison.

“The prison visiting committee meets regularly with the governor and we are given regular updates on every aspect of the running of the prison and we are very satisfied with the procedures the governor has outlined.”

A Carse of Gowrie woman yesterday told The Courier how one abscondee turned up on her doorstep at night begging to be returned to Castle Huntly.

She described him as a “poor soul” whose behaviour suggested he may have been taking drugs.

She said, “All he wanted was to be taken back to prison and I felt more sorry for him than afraid. I gave him a cup of tea and a biscuit while he waited outside and I phoned the prison.

“Within five or ten minutes, a van came to collect him.”

But the potential hazards of abscondees were highlighted in 2004 when an escapee from Castle Huntly carried out a series of armed robberies in Dundee before he was traced by police.

Earlier this month an inmate who escaped from the jail and broke into a house in nearby Longforgan was sentenced to community service.

Despite occurrences like these, the Scottish Prison Service yesterday said it would not be reviewing the open prison system in light of the figures.

A spokesman pointed out the number of people absconding over the last year is actually down on the previous 12 months.

“We continually review the criteria,” he said.

“The situation at the moment is that a prisoner can be in the open estate a year prior to their parole qualifying date, providing they have taken the steps which we deem appropriate to address their offending behaviour.”

The service said it was “regrettable” some prisoners failed to take advantage of the opportunities offered to them. They are likely to face a further period in custody in a closed prison once traced.

While it was stressed none of the prison estate inmates is considered to be a danger to the public, this assessment was made at the time of their transfer.

Tayside police, the force which covers the two prisons, said yesterday that photographs of abscondees were issued when it was considered to be in the public interest.

A spokesman said, “Discussions will take place between the police, the Scottish Prison Service and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and where it is considered to be in the public interest a photograph will be issued along with an appeal for information.”