The HMP hotel
New jail boasts en suite cells, DJ studios, a specialist gym and a hair salon ... and there’s even a sea view
PRISONS are often condemned by victims of crime and opposition politicians for their ‘holiday camp’ conditions. Even Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill has admitted some jails – with their games consoles and state-ofthe-art gyms – are a ‘skoosh’.
Now a £90million Scottish ‘super-jail’ has been praised for its soft-touch regime – by some of its own inmates. TV documentary, HMP Grampian: Transforming Scotland’s Hate Factory, takes cameras into the jail, which opened earlier this year.
An inmate at the jail – where prisoners rioted in May, causing massive damage – concedes they are pampered and that plush conditions for prisoners may increase the chances of them reoffending.
Last night Scottish Tory chief whip John Lamont said: ‘This will do nothing to improve public perception that “jail” in Scotland is a byword for “holiday camp”.
‘The Scottish Government should ensure that the focus now comes onto giving prisoners work and education, preparing them for life on the outside, instead of pampering and privilege.’
Andrew Allan, 48, – jailed for stealing cash and jewellery worth thousands of pounds – was filmed for the show as he became the first criminal to enter HMP Grampian
‘Jail is a byword for holiday camp’
in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. In the hour-long show that also charts the history of HMP Peterhead – dubbed ‘The Hate Factory’ until it closed last year – he talks about the PlayStation in his cell.
Crack cocaine using Allan, transferred from HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow, says: ‘Years ago, you never got anything like that. It doesn’t look like a prison. You don’t see many cells with a shower, do you? It’s a lot cleaner. It’s top-of-the-range.’
Last October jail bosses came under fire for splashing out more than £70,000 of taxpayers’ cash on state-of-the-art DJ studios, which they claimed would help rehabilitate dangerous criminals.
Two months l ater the f i rst images of HMP Grampian emerged, showing it housed a hair salon, a gym packed with specialist equipment, football pitches, a sea view and safes for those locked up. Allan says: ‘If people didn’t get treated with pampered gloves then they might not be in and out of jail so much. A lot of cons of my age will tell you, “We’re here to be punished, aren’t we?”.’
Viewers will get a guided tour of the prison, which also includes pool tables and a library packed with top crime books.
An employee with Skanska, the construction firm which built the jail, says: ‘ You’re one step away from a Premier Lodge in here.’ HMP Grampian governor Jim Farish is confident the approach, inspired by Norway’s blueprint, will pay off. He says: ‘I have total confidence that we will be able to demonstrate through time that the facilities allow us the flexibility to deliver the things that will make a difference to individual offenders.’
Prisoners went on the rampage in May and riot teams were called in to break up the 14-hour disturbance. It later emerged taxpayers face an estimated bill of £246,678 to repair or replace damaged items.
The Scottish Prison Service said it could not comment ahead of broadcast.
HMP Grampian: Transforming Scotland’s Hate Factory will be aired on Sunday, on BBC2 Scotland at 9 pm