Prisoners forced to sleep on cell floors

Published on Sunday 9 September 2007 00:40

PRISONERS are being forced to lie on mattresses on the floor in Scottish prisons because of the continuing overcrowding crisis.

According to political magazine Holyrood, John McCaig, deputy chief inspector of prisons, confirmed the practice was caused by prisoners often having to sleep three to a cell.

The crisis is particularly acute in HMP Porterfield in Inverness, inspectors said, where often three inmates are in a cell designed for just one person.

The jail has also had to move female prisoners from their own wing in order to accommodate male criminals, because of the burgeoning numbers.

The last four days of August saw the highest number of prisoners ever recorded in Scottish jails.

Some 7,497 people were being kept in jail on August 28, well above the official prison capacity of just 6,845.

SNP ministers have announced that they intend to build a new jail at Low Moss near Glasgow.

However, there are growing calls from opposition parties to build even more prisons.

Human rights lawyers now claim that the overcrowding crisis could lead to a flood of legal cases against the Scottish Prison Service by inmates who believe they are entitled to compensation.

John Scott, of the Howard League, said: "It is inevitable that with this overcrowding, people will be squeezed into cells. If you have three guys in a cell designed for one, it gives rise to various problems, including respect for individual privacy and prisoner-on-prisoner violence, because of the increased tension.

"The Scottish Government is very vulnerable to legal action from prisoners."

Legal action could be taken if prisoners are denied access to courses or rehabilitation treatment, or if they are denied visits because of the pressure on staff.

Official estimates suggest the prison population could exceed 8,200 by the middle of the next decade. Figures last week showed crime rising in 2006-07.

The new SNP Government has proposed dealing with the overcrowding crisis by drastically reducing short-term sentences for petty offenders, so that prison places are freed up for genuinely serious criminals.