The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) () is an

executive agency An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or No ...

of the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

tasked with managing prisons and Young Offender Institutions. The Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, currently Teresa Medhurst, is responsible for its administration and reports to the

Cabinet Secretary for Justice Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Fili ...

, who is responsible for the Scottish Prison Service within the Scottish Government. There are fifteen prison establishments in the country, one of which is privately managed. The SPS employs over 4,000 staff, with its headquarters in One Lochside, located in South Gyle,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Key personnel

The current Chief Executive is Teresa Medhurst and supporting her is the SPS Board consisting of: * Allister Purdie – Director of Operations (acting) * Caroline Johnston – Director of Corporate Services (acting) * Sue Brookes – Interim Director of Strategy & Engagement (acting)

List of establishments

* HMP Addiewell (privately run by Sodexo Justice Services) * HMP Barlinnie * HMP Castle Huntly (

open prison An open prison or open jail is any jail in which the prisoners are trusted to complete sentences with minimal supervision and perimeter security and are often not locked up in their prison cells. Prisoners may be permitted to take up employmen ...

) * HMP & YOI Cornton Vale (

Young Offenders Institution In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...

and women's prison) * HMP Dumfries * HMP Edinburgh * HMP Glenochil * HMP & YOI Grampian (

) * HMP Greenock * HMP Inverness * HMP Kilmarnock * HMP Low Moss * HMP Perth * HMYOI Polmont (

) * HMP Shotts HMP Addiewell is privately managed under contract to the SPS.

Other responsibilities

Prisoner escorting

Prior to April 2004, the SPS was directly responsible for escorting convicted prisoners in Scotland, including those appealing their conviction or sentence. The duties of escorting prisoners on remand and managing court custody facilities were the responsibility of the relevant local police force. In November 2003, the SPS signed a contract on behalf of the Scottish Ministers for a "Prisoner Escort and Court Custody Service". This contract with Reliance Secure Task Management Ltd provided for all prisoner escorting between police cells, court, prisons and hospitals as well as covering escorts from prison such as funerals, hospital appointments and community placements and also operating the court custody units. In 2012, the court custody and prisoner escort service contract was taken over by G4S. GEOAmey currently run the service, having taken over from G4S in January 2019. The current contract is due to expire in January 2027, subject to an optional extension for a period of up to 4 years.

Secure hospital

Some prisoners are detained in a secure

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

. This is run by the Scottish National Health Service rather than the SPS. *

State Hospital The State Hospital (also known as Carstairs Hospital, or simply Carstairs) is a psychiatric hospital located close to the villages of Carstairs and Carstairs Junction, in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. It provides care and treatment in conditions ...

Carstairs Carstairs (, Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteal Tarrais'') is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. Carstairs is located east of the county town of Lanark and the West Coast Main Line runs through the village. The village is served by Carstairs r ...

South Lanarkshire South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...

Prison aftercare

An aftercare scheme, Throughcare, has significantly cut reoffending. The scheme involves getting released prisoners a roof over their heads, sorting out their benefits and medical needs, and showing them that someone cares about them. 78% of former prisoners who received Throughcare did not return to prison over two years. Eleven Scottish prison service sites use Throughcare. "The TSOs hroughcare Support Officersuse a case management approach, working collaboratively with the prisoner, their family, statutory and third sector service partners, to discuss appropriate support provision and to develop a personalised plan to support the person during their transition from custody back in to the community."Throughcare Support Officers in Scottish Prisons
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Media coverage

The SPS has been featured in many TV shows including '' Prison: First & Last 24 Hours'' on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

which was broadcast between 28 October 2015 and 5 December 2016.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Prison Service Prison and correctional agencies Government-related organisations based in Edinburgh 1993 in Scotland Government agencies established in 1993