DRUGS REPLACE OVERCROWDING AS JAIL PRIORITY

OVERCROWDING in Scottish jails may be coming to an end, the Chief Inspector
of Prisons said in his annual report yesterday. But Clive Fairweather gave
warning that drugs and violence related to drug debt had become the central
problem for jails.

In what was his first report for the Scottish Parliament, Mr Fairweather
said his findings did not lead him to conclude, as he had feared some years
ago, that the drug problem was out of control.

But drug taking and the violence it can lead was the central problem for
Scottish prisons, and might partly account for a disproportionate rise in
prison suicides.

Low Moss, near Kirkintilloch, was now Scotland's most violent prison -
largely because of the problems associated with drug abuse, Mr Fairweather
said.

The Prison Service is planning to increase encouragement for prisoners, who
reject drugs, such as offering longer family visits.

"Recent inspections have begun to detect an encouraging increase in the
number of prisoners coming forward to say they want to be free of drugs,"
Mr Fairweather said. In Shotts prison, Lanarkshire, there were prisoners
who had told the authorities they wanted to be free of drugs and who lived
and worked separately from users.

He praised the anti-drugs strategy introduced at Dungavel prison, near
Strathaven: "Thanks to good management, tough enforcement and the incentive
of open conditions, Dungavel has reduced its random mandatory drug-testing
figures from an horrific 60 per cent to much nearer 10 per cent. It is well
on course to becoming Scotland's first drug-free prison."

Launching his annual report yesterday, Mr Fairweather said: "The daily
prison population is less than was being forecast earlier this decade; much
nearer 6,000 than the 7,000 predicted.

"Combined with the recent increases in prison capacity, this means that it
is now possible to predict an end to overcrowding."

Mr Fairweather said that in the past overcrowding had overshadowed almost
everything the Scottish Prison Service had been trying to achieve, such as
reducing re-offending, improving basic living conditions and the
refurbishment of buildings. "By housing fewer offenders prisons we will
also be able to concentrate more on the rehabilitation of serious offenders
and therefore better protect the public."

Mr Fairweather said that if the prison capacity figures stayed at their
current level he would suggest the closure of a unit, possibly Longriggend,
near Airdrie.

"It would cost an awful lot to refurbish to the standards required and the
population doesn't seem to justify having it. As of now, there is spare
capacity for the first time, something in the region of 200 to 300," the
Chief Inspector said.