New Glasgow Custody Unit in Maryhill: The start of humane prisons?

A new all-female custody unit due to open soon in Maryhill, Glasgow could be the start of ethical prison systems.

Prison systems globally are overpopulated and function as they appear – concrete locked, and dull of livelihood. These confined spaces regurgitating the same Groundhog Day activities create unfriendly environments that arguably breed bad behaviour cycles.

The Lilias Community Custody Unit challenges this usual set-up and functions like temporary private accommodation for female prisoners. It swaps bars on windows with curtains, and locks on doors with ‘Welcome’ signs.

Comparatively, Scotland’s national female prison, Cornton Vale (due to be replaced with a neighbouring unit in Stirling), is rigid due to its bleak interior. With a 2021 UK Government statistic recording that ‘around 10% of prisoners were receiving mental illness treatment… [and suggesting that] 70% may have some form of mental health need at any given time’, there could be a connection between a prison’s environment and its effect on the mental health of inmates.

A neighbouring community custody unit was opened in Dundee during the summer – the Bella Centre.

Thriving as an end-of-sentence accommodation for up to 25 women at a time, the centre utilises its calming surroundings to help reintegrate women back into society before their releases.

An element of freedom is introduced by providing en suite shower rooms with key cards to each woman – also including communal kitchen spaces to allow for cooking and grocery budgeting.

Life skills like cooking and financial management are restricted in regular prisons which can discourage independent living for inmates. Little freedom to manage these vital aspects of everyday adult life can severely delay adjustment periods post-release. It is projects like these new custody units which aid this transition whilst softening the harsh conditions inmates are subjected to.

A report published by the Mental Welfare Commission in April earlier this year documented the lack of change in mental health support in Scottish prisons. After 10 years of investigation, it was concluded that an insufficient amount of work has been done to assist prisoners and their mental health.

Concerns remain as “89% of frontline staff said they would like more… in-depth training for working with an increasing number of prisoners with complex mental health needs and presenting behaviours”.

Lacking the facilities to support those with poor mental health – and those at risk of suffering – tense surroundings which negatively impact mental health, such as exposure to violence and strict confinement, prove that one size fits all prison systems may encourage poorer mentalities.

Being locked in cells with timed access to daylight, prisoners are already confined to their sentence durations. Are these default environments which normalise hostility and aggression, humane?

To what extent should these incarceration periods remain torturous and mentally goading for inmates before the system is to blame for worsening mental health?