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| What Michael Gove could learn from Scotland’s prison closure | What Michael Gove could learn from Scotland’s prison closure |
| (2 days later) | |
| Reporting on the penal system is a pretty depressing task. There is little or no sunshine in the working day. But occasionally a ray of light shines through the gloom. And so it was when I read that a far-sighted justice minister has taken the bold decision to close a women’s prison that holds 226 females and replace it with a smaller jail holding just 80. The remaining 146 women will not be set free, but they will be housed in five small regional units, offering help with drugs, alcohol, domestic abuse and mental health problems, which affect the vast majority of women in custody. | Reporting on the penal system is a pretty depressing task. There is little or no sunshine in the working day. But occasionally a ray of light shines through the gloom. And so it was when I read that a far-sighted justice minister has taken the bold decision to close a women’s prison that holds 226 females and replace it with a smaller jail holding just 80. The remaining 146 women will not be set free, but they will be housed in five small regional units, offering help with drugs, alcohol, domestic abuse and mental health problems, which affect the vast majority of women in custody. |
| Baroness Corston, who produced a report in 2007 on the plight of women in prison, recommended the setting up of such units, to replace the antiquated Victorian relics. The Corston Report highlighted that too many women are sentenced for short periods of time for very minor offences, causing chaos and disruption to their lives and families, without any realistic chance of addressing the causes of their criminality. It was well received and praised by reformers but ignored by the Labour government. Corston must be delighted by the brave action of the justice minister who is finally taking her advice, albeit eight years down the line. | |
| Related: The Observer view on prison reform | Observer editorial | Related: The Observer view on prison reform | Observer editorial |
| Unfortunately, the closure is not happening in England and Wales: the prison facing the axe, Cornton Vale, is in Stirling, in Scotland. It is the only women’s jail north of the border. And the progressive justice secretary is not Michael Gove, but his Scottish counterpart, Michael Matheson. | Unfortunately, the closure is not happening in England and Wales: the prison facing the axe, Cornton Vale, is in Stirling, in Scotland. It is the only women’s jail north of the border. And the progressive justice secretary is not Michael Gove, but his Scottish counterpart, Michael Matheson. |
| When Matheson took up post last year, plans were in place to replace Cornton Vale with a newly-built large women’s jail in Inverclyde, west of Glasgow. But in January, Matheson scrapped the £75m proposed new prison. At the time, the SNP minister said the planned new national jail did not fit in with his vision of how a modern and progressive country should be addressing female offending and that a bolder, more radical approach was what the country needed. | When Matheson took up post last year, plans were in place to replace Cornton Vale with a newly-built large women’s jail in Inverclyde, west of Glasgow. But in January, Matheson scrapped the £75m proposed new prison. At the time, the SNP minister said the planned new national jail did not fit in with his vision of how a modern and progressive country should be addressing female offending and that a bolder, more radical approach was what the country needed. |
| The Scottish government then set about consulting on introducing smaller regional and community-based custodial facilities. How sweet to see a minister talking this way and then letting his actions match his words. | The Scottish government then set about consulting on introducing smaller regional and community-based custodial facilities. How sweet to see a minister talking this way and then letting his actions match his words. |
| Announcing the replacement of Cornton Vale with a smaller prison and rehabilitation units, Matheson said various justice policies have been labelled “soft, or tough” in the past. “But I think the time is right to move away from that sort of narrative – what we are doing here is taking a smart approach. Simply locking up women in large facilities doesn’t work. We have seen the damaging impact that going in and out of prison has for the women, for their families and for their communities.” | Announcing the replacement of Cornton Vale with a smaller prison and rehabilitation units, Matheson said various justice policies have been labelled “soft, or tough” in the past. “But I think the time is right to move away from that sort of narrative – what we are doing here is taking a smart approach. Simply locking up women in large facilities doesn’t work. We have seen the damaging impact that going in and out of prison has for the women, for their families and for their communities.” |
| Did I mention a ray of light before? This is much more. It is a shining beacon of common sense. And the new approach is not confined to women who commit crimes. | Did I mention a ray of light before? This is much more. It is a shining beacon of common sense. And the new approach is not confined to women who commit crimes. |
| Prison Service Scotland has seen a drastic drop in the number of young people in custody (as indeed have England and Wales, to be fair). But the reduction in Scotland is backed by impressive low reoffending rates by youngsters leaving custody. Across the board, the reconviction rate for young offenders leaving custody is around 47%, around two-thirds of the rate in England and Wales. But for first-time offenders leaving jail, that drops to a quite astonishing 21%. | Prison Service Scotland has seen a drastic drop in the number of young people in custody (as indeed have England and Wales, to be fair). But the reduction in Scotland is backed by impressive low reoffending rates by youngsters leaving custody. Across the board, the reconviction rate for young offenders leaving custody is around 47%, around two-thirds of the rate in England and Wales. But for first-time offenders leaving jail, that drops to a quite astonishing 21%. |
| And unlike the penal system in England and Wales, Prison Service Scotland has offered this journalist an open invitation to visit a jail under its jurisdiction. Music to my ears and I will shortly be taking the offer up. | And unlike the penal system in England and Wales, Prison Service Scotland has offered this journalist an open invitation to visit a jail under its jurisdiction. Music to my ears and I will shortly be taking the offer up. |
| We have yet to hear what the justice secretary Michael Gove intends to do about the appalling state of prisons in most of the UK. He should look no further than bonny Scotland. If it can work there, there is absolutely no reason why it could not be replicated. Gove has a chance to repair the damage done by his predecessor, Chris Grayling. Does he have the backbone to take it on? | We have yet to hear what the justice secretary Michael Gove intends to do about the appalling state of prisons in most of the UK. He should look no further than bonny Scotland. If it can work there, there is absolutely no reason why it could not be replicated. Gove has a chance to repair the damage done by his predecessor, Chris Grayling. Does he have the backbone to take it on? |
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