Glenochil jail criticised over cell-sharing assessments

Inspectors have criticised cell-sharing risk assessment procedures at Glenochil prison in Clackmannanshire.

An inspection of HMP Glenochil, near Alloa, was carried out in March.

The report said better assessment should be done before housing two prisoners in the same cell.

In relation to 10 standards introduced by chief inspector David Strang, five were assessed as satisfactory, four as generally acceptable and one as unacceptable.

Glenochil houses about 660 prisoners, and is one of the major sites in Scotland for managing sex offenders.

The report said: "The area of greatest concern relates to the risk assessment which is conducted before a decision is made to locate two prisoners in the same cell.

"It is vital that all the risk factors and vulnerabilities of a prisoner are assessed before any such decision is made.

"Inspectors found that this was not always the case, with key information not being passed to the relevant member of staff."

However, inspectors said the relationship between staff and prisoners was "respectful and constructive", and said arrangements for family visits were "good".

Healthcare was said to be "generally acceptable", but the report noted that the standard of cleanliness and hygiene in terms of infection control was "poor".

Mr Strang said: "I look forward to seeing the action plan produced by HMP Glenochil in response to this report, which I hope will lead to improvements within the prison."