The report of findings from the longitudinal inspection of HMYOI Polmont, which was undertaken by the HM Inspectorate of Prisons in April 2016, has now been published.
Following the announcement in early February 2016 by the Scottish Prison Service of the partial closure of HMP & YOI Cornton Vale over the summer of 2016, involving the transfer of over 100 women to HMYOI Polmont, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, David Strang, announced that he would be undertaking a longitudinal inspection at HMYOI Polmont.
This report documents the findings during the inspection from April 19-21, and prior to the arrival of the women in the summer of 2016. It can be found at www.prisoninspectoratescotland.gov.uk.
Claire Lightowler, Director of the Centre for Youth & Criminal Justice (CYCJ), said:
“Polmont HMYOI has undergone a significant transformation over recent years with a renewed focus on, and investment in, learning and development. The inspection report highlights the initial successes of this transformation but also how challenging it is to support the young men to successfully engage in the opportunities provided.
“The research we have undertaken at CYCJ adds further weight and context to the nature of this challenge, highlighting the significantly high levels of trauma, bereavement and loss experienced by the young men in Polmont HMYOI (Vaswani, 2014), as well as high levels of school exclusion and lack of experience of employment or training (Smith, Dyer and Connelly, 2014).
“Polmont HMYOI is facing a period of change as female prisoners move in, creating additional challenges and requiring further effort to sustain the progress made to date.”