Private Prison Fails In Scotland

If anyone thinks that private prisons are ineffective only in the US, they need to think again. No matter where in the world these facilities operate, be it Idaho or Istanbul; turning rehabilitation and incarceration over to nasty corporations like CCA, GEOGroup & overseas, G4S Securior, (Wackenhut) always fails. 

Excerpt From Daily Record UK

SCOTLAND"S showpiece private prison is more violent than any other jail of its size in the country, a shock report by inspectors has revealed.

Addiewell jail has been dubbed the Addison - after the Radisson hotel chain - because cons enjoy flat-screen TVs, Sky Sports and en-suite bathrooms in their cells.

But there were more attacks on staff and inmates at Addiewell in 12 months than at Saughton in Edinburgh, Perth or Kilmarnock prisons, which are about the same size.

And the West Lothian jail has been hit by two major riots since it opened little more than two years ago at a cost of £130million.

As he unveiled his first ever report on Addiewell, Scotland's chief inspector of prisons, Brigadier Hugh Monro, said: "I worry about the violence here, as I do in all Scottish prisons - particularly the staff assaults."

 And politicians described the level of attacks on Addiewell officers as "unacceptable" and "deeply disappointing".
Addiewell staff suffered 49 "minor" attacks - almost one a week - in the 12 months to October 2010. There were also two serious assaults on officers.

That compares to just 14 "minor" attacks and two serious staff assaults in the same period at Saughton, seven "minor" assaults at Kilmarnock and only five "minor" attacks at Perth.
Addiewell was also worst for attacks by cons on other prisoners. There were 16 serious assaults - more than at Saughton (15), Perth (11) and Kilmarnock (11).

The reports also records 278 "minor" prisoner-on-prisoner attacks at Addiewell. The figures for Saughton, Perth and Kilmarnock were 274, 195 and 154 respectively.

Rioting erupted at Addiewell in October 2009. About 20 cons ran amok and an officer needed treatment in hospital.
Just three months later, an officer was hit with a pool cue as violence erupted again.

Reacting to the inspector's report, Tory justice spokesman John Lamont MSP said: "Addiewell has, in a short space of time, developed a poor history of protecting staff. It is deeply disappointing that they have not addressed this problem.

"The level of violence in this prison is unacceptable. More must be done to ensure that better safety is provided so staff do not bear the brunt of it."

Full Story