Jail to close as inmates let home for Christmas

Published on Saturday 5 December 2009 18:52

PRISON chiefs are to completely close one of Scotland's jails over the festive period because so many inmates are being sent home for Christmas.

Noranside open prison will be emptied and temporarily mothballed as around 200 prisoners – including killers – are freed to enjoy a week at home with their families.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesman revealed that the numbers being released were high enough to justify closing down Noranside, which is on the outskirts of Forfar, Angus.

A handful of inmates from Noranside who have not been granted a festive home leave will be sent to Scotland's other open prison, Castle Huntly near Dundee. Both jails are designed to help phase prisoners who are coming to the end of their sentences back into life outside, but have been "underused" in recent months, according to inspectors.

The spokesman said prison management had not finalised the total number being released, but it is expected that around 200 inmates will be freed on to Scotland's streets. He said: "There are only about 250 of them in the open estate at the moment. If most of them are eligible then they will be released for a home leave at Christmas. Some will be moved from Noranside to Castle Huntly and then Noranside will be shut down."

He added that prison management had been asked for details about numbers being released, but had been unable to confirm the final figure.

Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said: "This is soft-touch Scotland personified. It used to be that prison meant punishment. Now it is so cushy as to be beyond belief. While I recognise the potential cost savings of allowing prisoners to go home, I wonder how many of those released will get themselves into trouble over the festive season."

Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "If someone has broken the law, they have waived the right to spend Christmas with their family. The cost to taxpayers is high if we continue to fund these trips, but the cost to society could be even higher if prisoners continue to enjoy such perks instead of serving the sentences handed down in court."

Problems with open prisons have prompted major clashes between the SNP and opposition leaders in the Scottish Parliament. First, shortly after the Nationalists came to power, sex offender Robert Foye absconded from Castle Huntly after being let out to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

He raped a 16-year-old girl before being recaptured, prompting a tightening of controls over who is sent to open jails. Then, this year, two criminals absconded in quick succession from Castle Huntly.

First Minister Alex Salmond failed to mention the second incident when asked in parliament about the first and was accused of misleading MSPs.

He was later cleared of any wrongdoing by an independent investigation by the former speaker Lord Steel, who said Salmond was right to allow the police and prison authorities to make any announcement about a missing prisoner.

Many experts believe short breaks from jail help rehabilitate prisoners ahead of their final release, and cut down on reoffending. A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said the mass release of prisoners over the festive period also helped the service save money and operate with a skeleton staff.

Scotland's new prisons inspector, former army brigadier Hugh Monro, this autumn said he was concerned the open estate was underused because politicians were worried about the bad headlines caused by escapes.

He added: "We've become risk averse because of absconders. We may need to be much more careful about who goes, but we shouldn't give up on the open estate. We need to use it better to get people back into society efficiently and safely. The public needs to be protected, but that is all the more reason to see that the correct programmes are being funded in prisons and prisoners are getting to do them."

Noranside and Castle Huntly have been running at just two-thirds of their capacity this year, when the rest of Scotland's jails are overcrowded with record numbers of prisoners, despite the lowest crime figures for a quarter of a century.