Prisons inspector says overcrowded Barlinnie is unsafe
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Scotland's largest prison, Barlinnie in Glasgow, is more than 50% over capacity, with about 500 inmates more than it is designed for.
Brigadier Hugh Monro, the chief inspector of prisons, said this meant it could not be regarded as "safe".
He has called for more investment and a review of the management of overall prisoner numbers.
In particular he wants a review of why so many men who have not yet faced a trial are held in Barlinnie.
In his inspection report, Brig Monro said the number of remand prisoners at Barlinnie had risen by 28% since 2009, compared to an increase of just 5% in the overall prison population.
He said this increase had contributed to the overcrowding at the prison, which mainly caters for short-term prisoners from the Glasgow area.
At the time of his inspection, in May, there were 1,477 men in Barlinnie, which has a design capacity of 1,018.
Not safe
By November, the number held had risen to 1,565, more than 50% over capacity.
Brig Monro said overcrowding made Barlinnie "unsafe"
Brig Monro said this meant the jail was not as safe as it should be.
He said the churn of prisoners coming through the gates made it difficult to offer meaningful education, work or health programmes to help prevent them from reoffending.
"The prison has an operational limit for very good reasons," he said.
"It's about staff to prisoner ratios; it's about how prisoners can be searched when you're moving them about; it's about prisoners sharing cells which should be for only one man."
He was particularly critical of the health centre at the prison and the educational facilities with only three classrooms - smaller than that at Inverness Prison which caters for about 150.
Continue reading the main story Barlinnie population May 2011: 1,477
November 2011: 1,565
Design capacity: 1,018
The chief inspector's report said the opening of the new Low Moss prison in East Dunbartonshire in 2012 would reduce pressure, by creating 700 new places - but Brig Monro said money must nevertheless be spent urgently at Barlinnie.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is looking at ways of upgrading Barlinnie - but its building budget has been cut by the Scottish government by 68%.
Barlinnie's governor, Derek McGill, said there was nothing he could do about overcrowding as he must house all prisoners sent there by the courts.
But he said he was concerned at the increase in the number of remand prisoners.
"I think they are going up because there is an element of risk required to leave somebody in the community, and perhaps the judges are not as disposed to leave people in the community," he said.
"Perhaps they would rather take less risk and remand them."
But he revealed SPS was looking at plans to refurbish Barlinnie's education unit and reception area which have been criticised in several inspection reports.
He said overall the inspection report was positive, and recognised the prison was well led and run.
But he added: "If we could eliminate overcrowding, we could do more with the prisoners."
Self-portrait of alleged victim Colin Penrose in 2011.
John Clark appeared at Glasgow  on Friday charged with murdering cellmate Colin Penrose, 22, in the city's .

Penrose, from the West Coast town of , had been recalled to prison for alleged further offending after being paroled from a sentence for sexual assault against a teenager. Police Scotland confirmed they were called to the prison, Scotland's largest, shortly after 2:00am on Thursday when Penrose was found dead in the cell.

Clark has been remanded pending a full committal hearing next week. Clark is variously reported to be either 21 or 22.

Penrose died on the top floor of the jail's E Hall. E Hall includes accommodation for vulnerable prisoners.

Penrose, who attended , is survived by his parents, both 60. He listed himself on Facebook as single but had liked a dating page, and according to his profile was seeking employment. "I hate football and I hate the police", his profile reads, adding he enjoyed a drink at the weekend.

In early 2012 he uploaded a photo of himself with a swollen eye. Without explaining the injury he asked "does anybody want to say anything about my eyes in this picture or do you not give a shit what happens to me"? He received no response until a year later, when the reply "thats what happens to beasts

" was received.

Several friends posted condolences to his page after his death. One claimed he had been strangled.

The famous four-storey Victorian prison is routinely overcrowded, with prisoners sharing cells meant for individual use. With drug use at over 80% of the population, Barlinnie is Western Europe's largest dispenser of  substitute .
HMP Barlinnie from file.
In 2011 governor Derek McGill complained "If we could eliminate overcrowding, we could do more with the prisoners." He was speaking after an inspector branded the facility unsafe for prisoners and staff alike due to chronic overcrowding. Scottish Executive  spending cuts around the same time reduced the 's building funds significantly.

Plans are nonetheless afoot to replace Barlinnie with a new prison, to be called . The Prison Service is tendering for consultants to identify potential sites. Although the Scottish Government aims to reduce prisoner populations the new prison is to be more than twice the size of Barlinnie.

The nation's sex offenders were, until recently, usually all held at . The internationally-acclaimed sex offender treatment center was permanently closed late last year and the inmates moved elsewhere. Peterhead prison has been replaced with the 140 million "super prison" , built next door to the Peterhead site. Men, women, and young offenders are all held at the prison for the first time at a Scottish jail and the first inmates arrived this month.  has also closed and been replaced with the new jail. 

Homicide behind bars is unusual in Scotland, though there have been cases in 2006 and 1996. Neighbouring England has seen a spate recently, including four last year. Those four deaths were all charged as murder and represented the highest  total since 1998.


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