Barlinnie is in a 'wretchedly poor state', says report

INSPECTORS have described Scotland's largest prison as being in a "wretchedly poor state" following a review which also found the facility to be over 30% above its capacity.

- By Paul Cargill

HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) said it "strongly urged" the Scottish Government to do more to tackle the "fundamental problem" of overcrowding at HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow following a week-long inspection last November.

HMIPS noted nearly two thirds of prisoners were sharing cells designed to hold only one person during its assessment of the 143-year-old jail and said this factor could also account for a preinspection survey finding a high number of prisoners complaining about the behaviour of staff.

Bullying

The survey found more than half of prisoners had witnessed staff "abusing, bullying, threatening or assaulting" another prisoner, according to HMIPS.