A View from Scotland: The new prison that took its time

This month Inside Time launches a new regular column on Scottish prisons and justice, written by a serving prisoner

Scotland has a curious relationship with prison construction. We announce a new prison. We discuss it. We consult. We redesign. We discuss the cost. We debate the cost again. Eventually, somebody breaks ground. By then, half the people who needed the prison have probably already retired.

The new HMP Glasgow is intended to replace the 143-year-old HMP Barlinnie. The jail will have a capacity of 1,344 and a total project cost of £998.4m, with completion planned for 2028. Yet, construction of Scotland’s flagship prison has been beset by delays and budget-busting overspends. Scotland struggles with major infrastructure projects, with the Ferries Fiasco – where the construction of two car ferries ran eight years late and £400 million over budget – becoming a regrettable, somewhat comedic, saga in recent times.

But the latest infrastructure challenges plaguing Holyrood relate to the construction of new much-needed prisons. HMP Highland’s construction – replacing the Victorian-era Inverness – has similarly succumbed to delay after delay. Originally scheduled to open in 2020, its eventual opening in 2027 will see the project completed some seven years later than planned. Now, as reported in this paper in July, work on replacing HMP Greenock will not begin until 2031 at the earliest, some 20 years after the announcement of a replacement for the Victorian gaol.

The cost of HMP Barlinnie’s replacement is not pocket change. Nor is Barlinnie pocket-sized. The problem, however, is bigger than bricks and mortar. Scotland’s prison population reached a new recorded high of 8,603 in May this year. The Scottish Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission has also noted that the prison population has risen substantially despite long-term reductions in recorded crime.

So building another prison may be necessary. But it cannot be the whole answer. A new prison can provide better accommodation, better facilities and better working conditions. It cannot, by itself, solve excessive remand. It cannot create enough offending behaviour programme places. It cannot eliminate court delays. It cannot make someone stop taking drugs. It cannot find somebody a house on release. And it certainly cannot teach somebody how to live differently once they walk through the gate.

There is a danger in treating prison capacity like storage capacity. When the shelves are full, build another warehouse. But, as we have seen, it is not that straightforward. Human beings are not tins of soup. The Scottish prison population is increasingly complex. The SPS itself has warned about pressures arising from mental health difficulties, social care needs, serious organised crime and other challenges.

So the new Glasgow prison presents an enormous opportunity. It could become a modern institution built around rehabilitation rather than simply containment. But that requires more than new cells. It requires staff. Courses. Education. Healthcare. Family support. Technology. Release planning. And, most importantly, a political willingness to ask why so many people require imprisonment in the first place.

A new prison can give Scotland more room. The real question is whether we use that room to do more of the same. Or finally do something different.