TOP 100 ENGLAND SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| Family museum tickets 'don't fit modern life' Ed Balls, the Children's Secretary, has asked museums and galleries to come up with alternatives to the 'two adults plus two children' family ticket. telegraph.co.uk |
Sinn Fein suspends woman councillor over child sex abuse claims Pressure continued to grow on Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein leader, today after his party was forced to admit that it has suspended a member over allegations of child sex abuse. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Evacuation at Manchester Airport after white powder sparks security scare Part of Manchester Airport was evacuated after a man carrying a white powder onto a plane sparked a security scare. telegraph.co.uk |
DPP stands by decision to prosecute Gilderdale mother The Director of Public prosecutions said his decision to prosecute Kay Gilderdale for attempted murder after she helped her daughter die was in the "public interest". telegraph.co.uk |
Scotland's only women's prison in 'state of crisis', says inspector Cornton Vale suffering from a lack of strategic attention, says Hugh MonroScotland's only women's prison is in a "state of crisis" with most of its inmates living in unacceptable and worsening conditions, a damning report by the chief Scottish prisons inspector has concluded.Brigadier Hugh Monro said many of the 351 women and teenage offenders at Cornton Vale prison near Stirling were living with inadequate bedding, food and toilets, while too many inmates "spend too much time confined to their cells".Despite its well-documented problems, particularly from over-crowding, Monro alleged that senior executives in the Scottish prison service (SPS) had been ignoring the prison and had allowed it to decay further.Cornton Vale, Monro said, suffered from "a lack of strategic attention". Conditions there had worsened since the last inspection in 2006, provoking angry complaints from opposition parties about the Scottish government's penal policies."Cornton Vale is in a state of crisis," he said. "The conditions in which most of the women live on a day-to-day basis are unacceptable."There is very little for them to do, they are constantly being moved around and the fabric of the whole estate has an unkempt and run down feel."An ever increasing prisoner population is one of the main reasons for this situation, but the establishment also seems to be 'drifting'. It lacks a sense of purpose from the highest levels."Monro's report, published today, has focused fresh attention on steadily increasing overcrowding in Scottish jails, at a time of falling crime levels, and the Scottish government's controversial proposals to tackle it by ending jail terms for convictions under six months.Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice secretary, said it "vividly highlighted" the need to divert minor offenders from jail by using community sentences."All this makes for challenging times, which is why we are committed to tackling reoffending through a modern regime where prison is reserved properly for only those women who have committed serious or violent crimes," he said."But, meantime, there is no scope for complacency or any sense of inevitably about the depressing conditions described in the report."MacAskill said plans for individual "community payback orders", where offenders do community service at times tailored to their family's needs and school times, would help cut numbers, and £800,000 had been allocated for a new project to cut reoffending by women.Cornton Vale was built for 375 women but its numbers have hit 450 in the last 12 months, roughly twice the level in 2000. There are currently 351 inmates at the prison, with a further 50 living in Greenock men's prison, west of Glasgow – an overspill designed to relieve pressure on Cornton Vale.An SPS spokesman disputed some of Monro's findings; he said complaints about food and bedding were exaggerated by inmates. The service has drawn-up an "action plan" to deal with many of his findings, but the core allegation that Cornton Vale was in crisis were rejected."We wouldn't accept that," the spokesman said. "We accept there are challenges and the action plan will tackle quite a lot of those things, but with this population as it is we're always going to have difficulties."In addition to MacAskill's proposals to cut the number of women being jailed, pressure on Cornton Vale would also be eased when a new jail is opened in Peterhead, north of Aberdeen, in about 2012. It would have a dedicated women's wing, for inmates from north-east Scotland.Labour and the Tories rounded on MacAskill for using the report to support his plans to stop jailing people convicted of minor sentences – a proposal they are trying to resist at Holyrood.Bill Aitken, the Scottish Tories' justice spokesman, said: "Mr MacAskill has to realise that his responsibility is to ensure public safety and emptying prisons will simply result in more crime as offenders see absolutely no deterrent. Whose side is our soft-touch SNP government on? The criminal or the victim?"Richard Baker, the Scottish Labour party justice spokesman, said: "[MacAskill] must do more than just wring his hands. I do not believe that sheriffs send anyone to prison on a whim and the vast majority of prisoners in Cornton Vale have already tried and failed community punishments."The main factors affecting female prisoners are drugs and mental health problems and these are two areas where a great deal more needs to be done."Prisons and probationScotlandSeverin Carrellguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |