Prisons a reflection of times
PRISON was an invention of the Victorians and emerged at roughly the same time as postage stamps, trains, cameras and the flushing toilet.
A functioning, national prison system in Scotland was established in 1877 under the direction of Thomas Lee, the Sheriff of Perth and by 1888, there were 15 prisons in Scotland, with new prisons having been built at Barlinnie and Dumfries in 1882 and Peterhead in 1886.
Aberdeen and Inverness prisons would open in 1890 and 1901.
The Victorians wanted their “gaols” to reflect the spirit of the times: so they had to be ordered, places where the approved approach to work was instilled in those sent there and so they had to “reform” the unruly working class who did not seem to have the necessary self-control that needed to be harnessed to maintain the empire.
The institution of prison has continued to reflect the spirit of the times that it serves by locking up those people who not only break the law but who also do not easily fit with that host culture, or who might actively want to challenge it.
We don’t usually get to see prison populations – the high prison walls are not only designed to keep prisoners behind bars, but also serve to keep the “law abiding” from glimpsing what might be happening inside.
It is rare for prisoners to become visible, unless something dramatic happens to that institution, or to the prisoner himself.
The series this week will highlight an eclectic mix of Scottish prisoners who, for one reason or another, are described as “notorious”. Sometimes that notoriety is a consequence of the prisoner being especially troubling – such as when they riot, take hostages, repeatedly escape, and go on the prison’s rooftop to protest – or, paradoxically, when the prisoner claims to have turned their life around in some dramatic way.
What does Scotland want its prisons to do now to reflect the Scottish nation? Who does it want to send there and in what numbers? Should it follow the English and American examples of excess, or find inspiration to the east in the various penal systems of Scandinavia?
Norway, for example, has the most liberal approach to jail time in the world, with a maximum penalty of 21 years imprisonment for any offender.
The Record series is riveting reading, but it should also make us question who gets sent to prison and what it is that we want to happen to them once they are locked up. Answering these two questions will tell us much about who we are and what type of culture Scotland would like to have.
Professor David Wilson is a criminologist and former prison governor. His new book Signs of Murder about he 1973 murder of Margaret McLaughlin in Carluke was published by Sphere in July.