Some Residents Object to New Scottish Prison
GLASGOW, Scotland — A new 700-cell prison has been approved on a site outside of Glasgow after two years of deliberation, and some residents fear that it will bring more dangerous inmates and sex offenders into their community.
The $200 million maximum-security prison will replace the 330-bed Low Moss complex, made up of former World War II barracks, that has been in operation since 1969 and houses low-security offenders.
Community members were previously told that the existing jail was temporary and would be removed. They are disappointed in the Scottish Executive for not considering their opinion in overturning East Dunbartonshire Council’s 2005 decision to refuse permission for the new jail.
Advocates of the prison believe it will bring economic benefits to the area and ease overcrowding in the country’s prisons. In addition, the governor of Low Moss plans on meeting with the community council to discuss concerns about operational issues at the prison.
Some community members would prefer that the Scottish Prison Service supervise the new jail as opposed to a private company. The private firm, Serco, which runs Scotland’s only private jail at Kilmarnock, has expressed interest in running the facility, according to officials.
Under the current agreement, the Scottish Prison Service will pay $659,000 for new roads in the area.
The SPS is also working on putting the community at ease about the new facility. It is assuring community members that the prison perimeter will be surrounded with 15-foot security fencing and an 18-foot wall. Building a high-security prison means that a wide variety of prisoner types can be housed there, but only low-risk inmates will be held in minimum-security facilities, according to officials.
The current facility at Low Moss provides accommodation for 330 medium- to low-supervision-category male adult prisoners sentenced to less than 48 months. The prison does not receive inmates directly from court but takes selected medium- to low-supervision-category prisoners from Barlinnie, Edinburgh, Greenock and occasionally Kilmarnock.