Craiginches Female Wing May Stay Shut

The future of a women’s unit in a north-east prison was in doubt last night after it emerged that it may never be brought into use again. The wing at Craiginches Prison in Aberdeen was closed in spring 2005 for refurbishment and the inmates were temporarily transferred to Cornton Vale Prison near Stirling, Scotland’s only all female jail. It was understood that the unit would be reopened once the upgrade programme was completed but last night it was suggested that it may be used for other purposes.

This means that convicted female prisoners from the north-east will remain in Cornton Vale, 120 miles from their families and friends, until their sentences are spent. All new prisoners, people on remand who will be ferried back and forth from the prison to north-east courts, and those who have been sentenced, will be sent there.

A source said: “The unit was closed in spring 2005 and the refurbishment work is ongoing but there are no plans to bring women back to Craiginches at the moment. The unit remains closed and it is up to the governor and the management team what the best use of it will be.”

The revelation caused outrage among politicians who claimed they had been led to believe that the unit, which comprises of four cells that can accommodate eight people, would be reopened as soon as it had been upgraded.

SNP MSP for Aberdeen North Brian Adam said any decision to close it permanently was unfair on prisoners’ families because Cornton Vale Prison and Greenock Prison, where there is a women’s unit, were not easy to get to. “If women commit crimes they need to be locked up and go somewhere but families should not be punished,” he added. “Women tend to be short-term prisoners and ferrying them back and forth to Aberdeen Sheriff Court is not a cheap option.” Mr Adam said he would raise the issue with Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson.

Aberdeen City councillor Gordon Leslie, chairman of the prison visiting committee, said that prison governor Audrey Mooney had told the committee that the unit would be brought back into use. On the doubts over the unit’s future, he said: “This is news to me and the committee because the last time we discussed the unit we were told the work was completed and all they were waiting for is staff.

“When the ladies section was closed down for refurbishment the staff were transferred to the main building to complement the vacancies there. I walked past the unit around two weeks ago and there was no work going on. As far as I am aware it is ready to be up and running and they were just waiting for staff – that was the message from the governor.”

It emerged on Saturday that the ratio of staff to prisoners has fallen in most of Scotland’s jails.

Statistics released by Ms Jamieson showed that Craiginches Prison was one of the worst hit, with the ratio dropping from one to one to 0.5 to one between 2000 and 2006.

Mr Leslie, who claimed that prior to the unit closing up to 15 women were held there and forced to bed down on mattresses on cell floors, added: “The situation is diabolical and I would urge the Scottish Prison Service to provide funding to Craiginches to hire more staff.”

Derek Turner, assistant secretary of the Prison Officers Association in Scotland, said it was his understanding that work to upgrade the women’s unit, which involved redecorating the cells and installing new furniture, had been completed and it was a lack of staff was preventing it from being re-opened.

He added that recruiting and retaining staff was a problem at Craiginches, which like other prisons in Scotland is overcrowded, and several new officers who were hired recently had left. He said he was not sure why they quit but pay was a big factor because salaries start at £14,500 a year and only increase to £18,500 after five years. Mr Turner added: “The SPS needs to pay people more because this is not an awful lot of money in the Aberdeen area.”

However, a spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service denied claims the unit was ready for use. He said the suggestion that a staffing shortage was at the crux of the problem was “completely without foundation”. The spokesman said the refurbishment work was still taking place and the completion date was unclear.