Letters: Prison visits

YOUR report on the future of prison visiting committees (2 February) includes the assertion from justice secretary Kenny MacAskill that last year’s consultation “did not produce decisive evidence in favour of keeping the structures” of visiting committees, and is claimed by the Scottish Government as the primary reason for abolishing them.

In fact, of the 60 submissions, 59 were in favour of the current system of visiting committees, and only one – from the Scottish Prisons Service – called for their removal. The faith communities in Scotland believe the prison visiting committees system has a number of key strengths.

It allows independent observers to apply the standards of the community to what they observe in Scotland’s prisons, and provides a valuable opportunity for prisoners and staff to talk confidentially and privately about important issues.

While HM Inspectorate of Prisons carries out inspections and publishes reports on a periodic basis, visiting committees ensure that continual monitoring can take place.

Both of these functions, the periodic inspection and the day-to-day monitoring, help to ensure that prison conditions promote safe environments for staff and prisoners, developing opportunities for preparing for release with a focus on re-offending.

Visiting committees are a way in which the local community itself can be part of the criminal justice system which can only lead to greater understanding and a desire to improve the way in which we deal with crime and those who commit it.

(Rev) Elaine H MacRae

Joint Faiths Advisory Board on Criminal Justice

Action of Churches Together in Scotland

George Street

Edinburgh

The Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 gives anyone with a mental disorder the right to access independent advocacy.

The Scottish Government’s own research, Out of sight – severe and enduring mental health problems in Scottish Prisons, published in 2008, states that approximately 80 per cent of prisoners in Scottish prisons have a mental health problem. Therefore the majority of prisoners already have a right to independent advocacy.

Following the recent discussions, we are concerned that there appears to be a misunderstanding around the role of independent advocacy. Independent advocates, on an individual basis, help people to have a voice and participate in decisions made about their lives.

Collective advocacy helps to improve systems, services and institutions by enabling groups to discover common issues and concerns.

It is important to note that advocacy and monitoring are separate activities. Independent advocacy can be an additional safeguard over and above the formal monitoring systems that may be in place but would not replace such systems.

Annabel Goldie expresses doubts that an organisation contracted by the Scottish Prison Service would be truly independent. It is vital for effective advocacy provision to not only be independent but also that it is seen to be completely independent of service providers or of the government.

Scottish Independent Advocacy providers, while funded by local authorities and the NHS, have robust infrastructures and systems in place that mean that they are structurally and psychologically independent of their funders and are seen as such by the people who use the service.

Shaben Begum MBE

Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance

George Street

Edinburgh