Youth offending wing at Scotland's £140m '˜superjail' still empty

There are no plans to return young offenders to Scotland's flagship £140m '˜superjail' almost two years after a riot led them to be transferred to another prison more than 150 miles away.

An entire hall at HMP and YOI Grampian in Peterhead remains empty after young offenders were transferred to YOI Polmont following a riot more than two years ago. PIC SWNS/Hemedia

Young offenders were moved from HMP and YOI Grampian in Peterhead just weeks after the opening of the prison, the first of its of its kind in Scotland to house men, women and offenders aged under 21.

Following the disturbance in May 2014, around 30 young men were moved to Polmont near Falkirk - despite HMP Grampian being built in order to have prisoners from the north east closer to their friends and family.

Cruden Hall at HMP and YOI Grampian, where cells have en-suite facilities and are considered the best in the country, remains empty.

Scotland has one of the highest prison populations . Picture: Paul Faith/PA Wire

A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said record lows in prisoner numbers at Polmont had allowed young offenders from HMP Grampian to relocate there and benefit from new education and support programmes that are under development.

He said: “Polmont is currently sitting with about 500 young people in it and it was built for 700. The number of young offenders has declined significantly in the past four to five years which has led to a free hall at Polmont.

“We will return them to Grampian when it is deemed to be the right time to do it.”

Scotland has one of the highest prison populations . Picture: Paul Faith/PA Wire

The spokesman added there was no date set for when that may happen.

The spokesman added: “We have luxury of having space to accommodate them at Polmont, A few years ago this would not have been the case.”

High levels of sickness absence among staff at HMP Grampian have also been recorded.

Prison populations have been falling overall since 2011 with an annual drop of around two per cent recorded since 2013,

More dramatic decreases have been see in the young offender population, with a 18 per cent decrease recorded between 2013 and 2014.

Scotland still has one of the highest prison populations in Europe per head of population, with the Scottish Government focused on reducing the use of shorter custodial sentences and promoting intervention work to deal with those at risk of offending.

As of June 24 this year, there were 406 young offenders - either sentenced or on remand - within the Scottish prison system.

In 2009 there were around 1,000 young offenders in custody.

Research has shown a dramatic and sustained fall in young offenders imprisoned for crimes of dishonesty, such as car theft and housebreaking.

Experts believe this is partly due to improved home security.

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