The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Families charity defends Perth Prison children’s party.
Families Outside says contact can stop prisoners reoffending
A charity that represents inmates’ families has hit back at criticism of a festive children’s party held at Perth Prison.
Families Outside, a Scottish organisation that works to support families affected by imprisonment, said it was “extremely disappointed” with Scottish Conservative MSP Alexander Stewart’s condemnation of family activities run in HMP Perth over the Christmas period.
After details of the children’s party, one of a series of events at the jail costing a total of £1,200, were revealed by the Scottish Prison Service Mr Stewart, who is one of the representatives for the Mid Scotland and Fife constituency, slammed the authorities and claimed they gave the impression of a “soft touch” justice system in the country.
However, Nancy Loucks, chief executive of Families Outside, has hit back at his comments, claiming society benefits from holding such parties.
“We are extremely pleased the Scottish Prison Service understand the benefits of family contact and are confident a small investment, like that seen in HMP Perth, will have huge, longterm economic and societal benefits for Scotland as a whole,” she said.
“Prisoners who maintain contact with their families are up to six times less likely to reoffend, but there are also huge benefits for the families and children.”
She added: “Research shows that these children are at a higher risk of developing mental health problems and are three times more likely to engage in anti-social or offending behaviour than children without imprisoned parents.”
Mr Stewart had said he appreciated that prisoners need to engage with Christmas celebrations, but questioned “at what cost”.
He had said: “I understand that there needs to be a happy medium between crime and punishment but it is important this does not send out the wrong message to victims of crime.”