The latest violent offender to abscond from Castle Huntly open prison near Dundee was on his first spell of home leave, it has emerged.
Gary Kerrigan McGeown (38), who is serving a total of 12 years for serious assault and drugs offences, had been at the prison at Longforgan for only six weeks before failing to return after a week’s leave on Wednesday afternoon.
He is five feet eight inches tall, of slim build with brown eyes and a shaven head.
He is the third prisoner to go on the run from Castle Huntly in the last three months and was last seen in Glasgow on Tuesday morning.
McGeown was sentenced in 2001 but was subsequently released on licence in 2005.
After breaching this licence in 2006 he was arrested and returned to prison.
He appeared in court in January 2007 charged with two drugs offences and was given a two-month and one-month sentence for the respective crimes.
According to the Scottish Prison Service, McGeown was transferred to Castle Huntly around six weeks ago and was on his first visit home to Glasgow.
Police said that, while there is nothing to suggest McGeown could be dangerous, they would advise anyone who thinks they have seen him to contact them immediately rather than approach him.
A police spokesman said, “McGeown’s whereabouts are currently unknown but the majority of his connections are on the west coast.”
He said the force was working alongside colleagues in the Strathclyde area in the hunt for the violent offender.
In February, convicted heroin dealer Brian Masson was reported missing and was later traced near his Fraserburgh home.
In mid-January Tayside Police faced criticism after they failed to alert the public that violent prisoner Peter Duff — who has convictions for robbery, assault and firearms offences and was less then a third of the way through a nine-year spell behind bars — had been on the run for two days.
There were also calls for the resignation of justice secretary Kenny MacAskill last year when two criminals absconded from Castle Huntly within a week of one another.
Brian “The Hawk” Martin, who was serving 10 years for gun offences, fled from the jail before handing himself in a week later, while murderer John Brown was eventually found dead in the Gambia, seven months after going on the run.
In the most notorious case connected to the prison, sex offender Robert Foye absconded from Castle Huntly in 2007 after being released to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He raped a girl in Cumbernauld before being recaptured.
Kenny MacAskill introduced measures to tighten the process for transferring prisoners to open conditions as a result of the Foye case.
Labour’s justice spokesman Richard Baker yesterday called on the Scottish Government to implement the steps proposed by an independent review of Scotland’s open estate.
“We’ve raised a number of concerns about how the Scottish Government has approached security in the open estate and the cabinet secretary for justice is still refusing to implement the full report made by Professor Spencer on improving security, including using measures like GPS tracking,” he said.
“This case is yet another reason why Kenny MacAskill must implement those recommendations.”
Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said, “I’m beginning to think Castle Huntly should have an ‘in’ and ‘out’ board.
“Frankly Castle Huntly is an open house and, whilst this man had certainly been in for a good few years, the assessment that he should be in the open estate is certainly wrong.”
Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Robert Brown said, “This is a highly concerning situation, especially for the local communities in this area.
“It is important that circumstances around this escape are investigated and necessary action taken as a result.
“We must make sure that only those people fit to be in the open estate end up there.
“The open estate is a necessary part of our prison system but it must function properly to keep the public safe.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service last night insisted the number of prisoners absconding was at its lowest ever level thanks to the “strictest ever” criteria for criminals being sent to open prisons.
“Open prisons have been a feature of the justice system in Scotland since the 1950s.
“Absconds are at their lowest ever level at 10 from the open estate in 2009/10. In 2006/07 the number was 79.
“One abscond is an abscond too many and abscondees will be returned to a closed prison with the presumption that they will not be able to access open conditions,” the spokesman said.
Anyone with any information about McGeown’s whereabouts should call police on 0300 111 2222, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
In mid-January Tayside Police faced criticism after they failed to alert the public that violent prisoner Peter Duff — who has convictions for robbery, assault and firearms offences and was less then a third of the way through a nine-year spell behind bars — had been on the run for two days.
There were also calls for the resignation of justice secretary Kenny MacAskill last year when two criminals absconded from Castle Huntly within a week of one another.
Brian “The Hawk” Martin, who was serving 10 years for gun offences, fled from the jail before handing himself in a week later, while murderer John Brown was eventually found dead in the Gambia, seven months after going on the run.
In the most notorious case connected to the prison, sex offender Robert Foye absconded from Castle Huntly in 2007 after being released to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He raped a girl in Cumbernauld before being recaptured.
Kenny MacAskill introduced measures to tighten the process for transferring prisoners to open conditions as a result of the Foye case.
Labour’s justice spokesman Richard Baker yesterday called on the Scottish Government to implement the steps proposed by an independent review of Scotland’s open estate.
“We’ve raised a number of concerns about how the Scottish Government has approached security in the open estate and the cabinet secretary for justice is still refusing to implement the full report made by Professor Spencer on improving security, including using measures like GPS tracking,” he said.
“This case is yet another reason why Kenny MacAskill must implement those recommendations.”
Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said, “I’m beginning to think Castle Huntly should have an ‘in’ and ‘out’ board.
“Frankly Castle Huntly is an open house and, whilst this man had certainly been in for a good few years, the assessment that he should be in the open estate is certainly wrong.”
Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Robert Brown said, “This is a highly concerning situation, especially for the local communities in this area.
“It is important that circumstances around this escape are investigated and necessary action taken as a result.
“We must make sure that only those people fit to be in the open estate end up there.
“The open estate is a necessary part of our prison system but it must function properly to keep the public safe.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service last night insisted the number of prisoners absconding was at its lowest ever level thanks to the “strictest ever” criteria for criminals being sent to open prisons.
“Open prisons have been a feature of the justice system in Scotland since the 1950s.
“Absconds are at their lowest ever level at 10 from the open estate in 2009/10. In 2006/07 the number was 79.
“One abscond is an abscond too many and abscondees will be returned to a closed prison with the presumption that they will not be able to access open conditions,” the spokesman said.
Anyone with any information about McGeown’s whereabouts should call police on 0300 111 2222, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.