The Scottish Prison Service has been warned against using Castle Huntly open jail as a ”top-up” centre to dump dangerous criminals.
From today, the Longforgan establishment is the sole part of Scotland’s open estate as Noranside, near Forfar, is officially closed.
Anger is still reverberating in Angus over the SPS’s summer decision to axe the rural jail and, as the new era gets under way, politicians at local and national level said questions remain over the future.
Of chief concern is the risk of dangerous long-term prisoners absconding from Castle Huntly, and Conservative justice spokesman John Lamont told The Courier the jail will be under greater scrutiny than ever.
The open estate and Castle Huntly in particular has remained close to the headlines over a number of years, with the most notorious incident being the 2007 absconding of sex offender Robert Foye.
Foye, serving 10 years for the attempted murder of a policeman, was released to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting but went on the run and raped a schoolgirl.
That case saw stricter criteria applied to the type of prisoner transferred in preparation for release. Inmate numbers dropped at the two Tayside jails and they were running at well below capacity.
The SPS has confirmed prisoner transfers to Castle Huntly were completed earlier this month and officers are taking up new roles at other Scottish establishments. A number of staff have moved to the Perthshire prison, while some took voluntary redundancy.
The SPS has not confirmed the total number of inmates at Castle Huntly but Mr Lamont said greater numbers might present a higher risk of absconding, and he still has worries about the type of prisoner going to the open estate.
”Of course there is always going to be a place for the open estate but, as we have seen over the years of SNP administration, a number of problems have occurred involving prisoners having gone there before they have been properly rehabilitated,” he said.
A harsh critic of what he has called Scotland’s ”soft-touch” justice system, the Tory MSP said Castle Huntly’s role as Scotland’s only open prison would bring fresh focus on the way the jail is run and its role.
”We cannot have the open prison estate as just a top-up for the prison service,” he said.
The SPS has defended the open estate as vital for rehabilitation, but anger remains in Angus that expertise developed over years will be lost. There is also lingering disquiet that Noranside’s specialist facilities will be lost to a jail many believe is less equipped to deliver rehabilitation.
Angus Alliance councillor Alison Andrews said of Noranside: ”I wasn’t very impressed by the way the whole thing was handled, but then no one associated with the prison was. I’m disappointed by the outcome, but not surprised.”
Concern that preparation for release in Longforgan might not be as effective as in Angus was shared by Kirriemuir Landward East Community Council chairman Ivan Laird.
He said: ”I think they were presented with a fait accompli and, despite unfortunate situations like that involving Robert Foye, I still believe it is important that all long-term prisoners are given the best preparation they can for release.
”There was no better place than Noranside in providing that.”