Build pensioners’ prison to hold the VERY old lags
Action needed to handle rapid rise in number of elderly inmates, warns watchdog
MINISTERS and prison chiefs must consider a jail for old people to cope with the huge rise in elderly inmates, a major report will warn.
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons in Scotland (HMCIPS) will demand a new strategy to cope with concerns over dementia, disability and loneliness.
David Strang, a former chief constable, said it might be time to include a secure nursing home in the country’s prison estate.
He said existing prisons were built for young men and were not suitable for the 300 people aged 60 or over now behind bars.
Mr Strang added: ‘We’re publishing the report next month. There are real challenges around physical mobility and also concerns about growing older and dying in prison.
‘The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and Scottish Government need to decide what they’re going to do. Perhaps that will be building new accommodation, because prisons were built for young fit men, with high walls.
‘I’m not making a recommendation in particular on accommodation, but current prison arrangements are not suitable and will become less suitable as prisoners get older and more infirm.
‘Staff will also need training for dealing with people with dementia.’
The SPS does not have any plans for a secure nursing home, but does not rule it out in the longer term, and admits the rise in older prisoners is a pressing challenge.
An SPS report last month said it planned to treat those with social care needs as a ‘distinct population’, which would include some younger prisoners with health problems, as well as older ones.
An SPS insider said the rapid increase in the number of inmates in wheelchairs or walking with Zimmer frames was striking. Between 2010 and last year, the number of men aged over 50 in the prison population rose by more than 60 per cent, from 603 to 988.
The number of sex offenders behind bars has almost doubled, from 600 in 2000, to 1,100 today. The insider said that was almost entirely due to a rise in historic sex offences, which is also responsible for the rise in older prisoners.
The HMCIPS report will also call for more training for staff looking after older inmates. This has been welcomed by campaigners, though they questioned if a special prison would mean inmates being relocated miles from families.
Derek Young, senior policy officer at Age Concern Scotland, said: ‘We urgently need a strategy for older prisoners, who are the fastest growing demographic group inside. They often have chronic health needs or disabilities.
‘Much of the prison estate is antiquated, is typically designed for younger and more able-bodied men, and struggles to cope.’
Ministers and prison chiefs are examining what steps to take in relation to the report.
An SPS spokesman said: ‘We have no plans to develop a facility, but this is an issue that we are giving a great deal of attention to.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said it recognised the challenge of the growing numbers of older prisoners and would consider the HMCIPS findings.