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Two out of three inmates are on suicide watch in Scotland's notorious Cornton Vale women's prison, new figures revealed yesterday.
Campaigners demanded an end to jailing vulnerable women after Scottish government records showed 179 of Cornton Vale's 281 prisoners were being monitored under a "suicide risk management strategy."
At 64 per cent, the level is more than double the one-in-four rate among the general prison population.
MARK FAIRHURST highlights the main issues facing officers in a long neglected service, and raised by front-line delegates at POA conference last week, including understaffing, violence, bullying and the ongoing denial of workers’ right to strike
The announcement of a Women’s Justice Board should be cautiously welcomed, writes SABINA PRICE, but we need to see a recognition that our prison system is in crisis and disproportionately punishes some of the most vulnerable people in society
Working in a high-risk sector, prison officers’ calls for proper PPE must be heeded – and the POA will be fighting to ensure effective protection at work is delivered, writes MARK FAIRHURST
