By Brian Smith

PROVISION FOR the safety of people living in the area of Scotland’s open estate prison system will be a significant consideration in the report submitted to the Scottish Government, Prisons Commission chairman Henry McLeish said last night.

Speaking in Dundee before the first of five public debates the commission is holding before completing its report, the former First Minister said they had taken an “enormous amount of evidence” on the open estate.

Although not prepared to discuss individual cases such as Robert Foye, who raped a girl while on the run from Castle Huntly, near Dundee, and murderer John Bowden, who absconded from Noranside near Forfar and is still at large (see report on Page 2), he conceded, “The issue has again heightened locally by recent developments.

“The Cabinet Secretary Kenny MacAskill asked us to include the open estate in the work of the commission and we are doing that.

“What we are looking at, at this stage, is the continuing role (of the open estate) within the present set-up. We are looking at the kind of prisoners they are currently holding.

“It is essential for the open estate to retain the confidence and respect of the public and it has to work on the basis that absconding is a very, very small part of their work.

“We in the commission appreciate public concerns and it is timely that they be included in our report at the end of June.

“We have visited a number of prisons, including Castle Huntly, and have had first hand discussions with the governor and with other members of the prison service. We feel well placed to make effective recommendations.

“What we are looking at is to make sure there is a recognition that when someone goes into the open estate, there has been a very thorough risk assessment.

“We are looking at the kinds of prisoners going there and thirdly, that once a prisoner leaves the closed estate and enters the open estate, everything possible is done to make sure people living and moving around in the area are safe.”

He stressed that the commission’s examination of that aspect had been, “very thorough.”

On the overall work of the commission he said, “We have been asked by government to look into the role and use of prisons in the 21st century.

“The public is at the sharp end of crime and offending and it is vitally important the commission knows what they think.”

This has taken the form of five public debates, the first in the Marryat Hall last night, that are open to the general public and professionals working in the criminal justice system.

“I take very seriously the whole issue of community. The public have to have a criminal justice system that above all allows public safety. That is the first and over-riding priority.

“It is important to point out that despite having a smaller crime rate compared to some other European countries, Scotland has more people in prison.

“We have seen crime in Scotland remain at a very steady level—there has been some increase in violent crime and sex offending.

“Yet reconviction and reoffending within two years of release is at very high levels indeed. The commission is asking some big and searching questions.”

Mr McLeish said he was aware of other local issues such as the relocation of prisoners during the refurbishment of Perth Prison, with the resultant distancing from their families.

“These improvements are badly needed and there has been a substantial investment of public money. Governors wish to resume a degree of normality as quickly as possible.”

Mr McLeish added, “We acknowledge what is happening, but on the other side there will be substantial benefits when the work is done.”

Commission member and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch conducted the debate and panellists were Perth Prison governor Kate Donegan, criminal justice system service manager Jane Martin, Dundee Women’s Aid training manager Margaret Brown and Tayside Detective Chief Superintendent Angela Wilson.

The audience was mainly people working in the criminal justice system and topics included addressing alcohol and drugs dependency among people entering prisons, numbers on short-term sentences and the role of community service and other alternatives to custodial sentences.