HMP Grampian Block Underutilized Amid Staff Shortages, Inspectors Report

Prisons inspectors have indicated that achieving adequate staffing levels to fully utilize the facilities at HMP Grampian could alleviate overcrowding in other Scottish correctional institutions. The Peterhead facility, which has a capacity for 500 inmates, commenced operations in 2014, taking the place of HMP Peterhead and HMP Aberdeen, two older prisons. However, during an inspection conducted earlier this year, the Cruden Hall block within the prison, designed to accommodate up to 78 inmates, was found to be vacant. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) confirmed that 25 of these spaces have since been occupied and expressed satisfaction with several positive observations from the inspection. A report from HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) emphasized that enhancing staffing levels at both the prison and the young offenders institution should be a top priority. It urged the Scottish Prison Service to facilitate the necessary staffing to reactivate the unoccupied Cruden Hall accommodation. The report stated, “This would ease overcrowding pressures across the prison estate and reduce the need for prisoners to share cells designed for one person or sleep on mattresses on the floor, as regrettably happened earlier in the year.” Stephen Sandham, the interim chief inspector of prisons for Scotland, characterized the overall findings of the inspection as “pretty good.” He informed BBC Scotland News, “We found 23 examples of good practice, these are things that we think that HMP Grampian is doing particularly well, and which really the rest of the prison service could take a look at and copy.” He added, “Overall, we have nine standards – they got satisfactory for five, and four that were generally acceptable, which means a little bit of room for improvement, but by no means anything to worry about.” Mr. Sandham referred to the Cruden Hall block as “one of the best bits of accommodation anywhere in the prison estate.” Mr. Sandham remarked, “At the time of our inspection, Cruden Hall was lying empty.” He continued, “The prison system as a whole was very overcrowded, as it is today, and therefore it was really strange and frustrating to us that such a good piece of accommodation wasn’t being properly used.” Expressing his pleasure, he said, “I am absolutely delighted to say that the prison has responded very swiftly and promptly to that.” He noted, “They have already got one level of Cruden Hall open, and they have plans to open the rest of it.” He clarified, “You can’t open up any bit of accommodation unless you have enough staff to do it safely and responsibly.” He further acknowledged, “To be fair again to the Scottish Prison Service as a whole, they have provided a particular drive, particular incentives, to try and encourage people to move up from the central belt and support the team here at Grampian. “They have also done their local recruitment campaign here, targeting ways of getting more people in locally, and that’s also been successful.” He concluded, “They’re not exactly where they need to be, but they’re in a much better place.” Sandham also mentioned that “We’ve got 10 prisons in Scotland that are overcrowded to a tune of 750 prisoners – taking 750 prisoners more than those prisons are really designed to hold.” He indicated that populating Cruden Hall would represent a “step forward” but would “not going to solve the problem” on its own. Martin Milne, the deputy governor of HMP Grampian, described the report as “quite a positive” and “really heartening.” He stated, “We acknowledge that there are some areas that we need to work on, to try to improve on.” He added, “We are getting support from HQ to look at a temporary transfer scheme to try and transfer some officers to Grampian, so we will be able to open Cruden Hall fully in the near future.” A spokesperson for the Scottish Prison Service commented that the report had identified HMP and YOI Grampian as a progressive prison, featuring numerous examples of good practice and some of the finest accommodation within Scotland’s prison system. The spokesperson added, “Work is already under way to address many of the recommendations made.” They further stated, “Cruden Hall has been re-opened as part of our ongoing work maximise our use of all available space across our establishments in response to the population pressures our staff have been managing for several months.” Justice Secretary Angela Constance also highlighted several positive aspects of the report, including the “excellent person-centred” efforts of the Outreach Team. She acknowledged that there was scope for improvement and affirmed that the prison service would address all recommendations. She further stated, “We have increased investment in our vital prison service by 10% to £436.5m in 2024/25 to enable SPS to continue to provide a safe and secure prison estate.”