Unanswered Questions About Kilmarnock Prison

A damning report on Kilmarnock Prison last March by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, David Strang, is more relevant than ever, according to current information.

Kilmarnock Prison, formerly HMP Bowhouse, is a 500 cell facility, run  by Serco, a multinational private company. Only two out of 15 Scottish prisons are privately run,- Kilmarnock and Addiewell in Lanarkshire.

What exactly is the  trouble, according to Mr Strang? While he admits that the healthcare system there for example, is tolerable [the physical layout of the prison does not help with healthcare, he says]. he slates the poor care of prisoners facing release. He also has much implied criticism of Serco and society at large. Basically he is saying that compared with most of the other Scottish prisons, Kilmarnock is missing out. He states: ”We know that the outcomes are poorer for people who leave custody without arrangements in place for housing,healthcare and welfare benefits. 

Developing this point, he states: ”Prisoners are being denied the same level of throughcare support that they would have received if they had been in a different prison in Scotland." 

He blames this state of affairs on the private contract that was signed by the Scottish government and Serco in 1999. David Strang stated with some force that managers, staff AND prisoners who were interviewed all talked of the contract as a negative influence in the prison. The Ayrshire Daily notes that Serco has previously been the focus of criticism internationally over its internal ethics, over its greatly overcharging for government work and for the string of international scandals which have trailed after this multinational company. We also have had contact with prisoners who would back up what Mr Strang has said. One of them, Mark [not his real name] has told me: "We have not got much hope here. I've been in and out of this place for years. Who is going to employ someone with my record? Last time I was in here they kept me in an extra three months because I had no accommodation to go to. Surely they would have helped with a place to stay? I have often thought of suicide now and then." Kilmarnock Prison then has hardly been the brightest jewel in the firmament of privatisation that has taken place over the years. We leave that to our readers to judge. 

HMP Kilmarnock Prison

David Rodger

davidrodger107@yahoo.com

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