Ambitions to more than double the population at Tayside’s open prison will not impact local safety, its governor has stated.
Castle Huntly, outside Dundee, allows prisoners — some of whom have been previously locked-up in Scotland’s highest-security estates — to spend time in the community as part of rehabilitation efforts.
Notorious murderers Robbie McIntosh and Thomas McCulloch are among those who have been transferred there in attempts to reintegrate them into society.
A new inspection report has lamented the under-use of the open prison – the only one of its kind in Scotland.
When inspected last summer, there were just over 100 prisoners at the facility, which can house 285.
There are suggestions continued under-use could lead to closure so efforts are being made to increase its population.
However, governor Paula Arnold said any rise in numbers would not be of detriment to local safety.
She said: “There are very robust processes and systems in place and it is something we take extremely seriously, making sure the right person is there at the right time.
“Safety is paramount to me and the team here.
“It is especially what we pay attention to in great detail.”
Too few prisoners
Prisoners are sent to the 15th century castle if they are deemed to be sufficiently low risk before their release date.
Inmates are allowed greater access to the community, can have periods of home release and are able to walk around the estate – which dates back to the first Baron Gray of Fowlis – with few limitations.
HM Chief Inspector Wendy Sinclair-Gieben visited the Longforgan prison on Tuesday to unveil the latest inspection report.
It graded the facility “satisfactory”, with Ms Sinclair-Gieben dubbing the open estate “the jewel in the crown” of the Scottish Prison Service.
However, the report warns its future could be at risk if it continues to be under-utilised.
It states: “HMP Castle Huntly should be a flagship establishment of the Scottish Prison Service” but adds: “Unfortunately, too few prisoners are afforded the opportunity to access it.
“With numbers so low, the establishment are unable to offer as many community placements and opportunities as they may like and secondly, individuals are needed for the effective running of the prison.
“This combination negatively impacts the rehabilitative effect the establishment could offer.”
Closure option
The open prison helps fulfil human rights obligations, which inspectors expect to see the prison service provide.
The report states: “The Scottish Prison Service therefore has a stark choice.
“It can either continue running an underutilised and expensive facility or unblock the barriers to progression to ensure more effective use is made of HMP Castle Huntly which, apart from its poor accommodation wings, has some excellent facilities in a unique rural setting that still facilitates placements in urban areas.
“A more radical alternative would be to consider closure and affording other prisons the opportunity to run a more open regime in tandem with a closed regime for those prisoners due to be liberated.
“That might provide open conditions across a wider area of Scotland, potentially closer to families for more prisoners, but it would be hard to replicate the inspiring and restorative tranquility of HMP Castle Huntly.”
Post-Covid challenges
Ms Arnold said her team is pleased with the inspection report.
“There has been a great deal of work put in post-Covid and you see the benefit of that when you walk around and talk to individuals and staff.
“It is really pleasing to get satisfactory across the board.”
She added: “In my opinion the open estate is a success.
“Taking into account what people tell us when they arrive here – how pleased they are to be here – and the success we have with people going out on placement everyday… we are in a place where people are completely integrated into the community.
“We are the last stop before they are fully reintegrated, it plays a massive part across the prison estate.
“It is a really good opportunity for people (prisoners) to be here toward the end of their sentence.”
Castle controversy
Robbie McIntosh was on leave from the prison at his mother’s house in the Angus village of Bridgefoot when he committed a heinous attack on grandmother Linda McDonald.
There was fury in 2013 when it emerged axe murderer Thomas McCulloch had been freed after a spell in Castle Huntly and he is understood to have settled in Dundee.
For the latest court cases across Tayside and Fife, join our dedicated Facebook page.
