Plans to introduce restraints in Scotland’s prisons described as pain free have been derailed by the overcrowding crisis which is “paralysing” the service.
The news comes after the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) admitted the death of inmate Allan Marshall, 30, in 2015 was unlawful after excessive force used by multiple officers.
Marshall, from Carluke in South Lanarkshire, was on remand at HMP Edinburgh when he was restrained face down by 17 prison officers and died four days later.
His family has now received an apology from SPS, the Crown Office and Police Scotland after the Court of Session heard that the level of force went beyond what was necessary.
SPS are currently understood to use control and restraint (C&R) techniques – involving physical holds and floor restraints – to secure prisoners.
They began trialling new “non-pain-inducing” control and restraint techniques in three jails for women, young people and adult males last year.
Despite the pilot’s success in reducing violent incidents and “floor restraints”, the SPS’ annual report has revealed a planned roll out across all 16 prisons has hit the buffers.
SPS were instead forced to sharply “shift focus” in a bid to keep “people safe” and meet “basic needs” amid surging prisoner numbers, spiralling drug abuse and warring organised crime rivals.
Scottish Labour justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill MSP warned Scotland’s prisons were in “total chaos” despite SNP ministers having been warned about the extent of problems for years.
She said: “The country is now on the cusp of having a record number of people in custody, with prisons now at critical levels of security concern.
“Having been reliant on short-term sticking plaster fixes to address this crisis, we now see the knock-on effect with a planned roll-out of pain-free restraints now hitting the buffers.
“This is to the detriment of prison staff and those in custody, with measures that could potentially help improve management across the estate being put on the back burner.
“It is unfortunate that there has not been the capacity to roll out pain-free restraint measures for trial, particularly as commitments were made to the family of Alan Marshall in which the circumstances of his death indicated that restraint procedures played a part in his death.”
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary, Liam Kerr MSP, said the SNP’s failure to get a “grip on the chaos in our prisons” was being felt across the estate.
He said: “The safety of inmates and prison staff should be a top priority, but important measures are now having to be kicked into the long grass.
“Instead of turning a blind eye to the crisis in Scotland’s prisons, it is vital SNP ministers intervene and finally deliver the capacity required to house criminals safely.”
According to the SPS, pain-free restraints are intended to “reduce the risk of injury” to both staff and prisoners.
Their annual report reads: “Analysis of the pilot has highlighted reductions in violent incidents and floor restraints across all pilot sites and work has commenced to model and cost requirements for an organisational-wide implementation.
“It was hoped we would introduce this to more sites but operational pressures have prevented further progress.
“The population rise has limited our ability to deliver some planned improvements in regimes and to continue the roll out of a revised control and restraint approach.”
The report says pressure caused by overcrowding continues to “draw our resources towards safety and security” with a clear shift in focus towards “keeping people safe and meeting their basic needs”.
The SPS forecasts overcrowding will remain a major concern in future years, with the number of inmates currently surging by more than 200 to 8363, one of the highest levels ever recorded.
Scotland’s chief inspector of prisons Sara Snell recently warned further early release of prisoners was necessary to address the “paralysing” issue of overcrowding, which she said was affecting every aspect of prison life.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “While this is an operational matter for the Scottish Prison Service, we recognise the challenges faced by Scottish Prison Service staff due to a rising prison population. That is why we recently announced measures to release short-term prisoners early under emergency proposals to tackle prison overcrowding.
“It is important that we provide a safe and secure environment for those in custody, and will continue to work with the Scottish Prison Service and other partners to ensure frontline staff are properly supported and trained on control and restraint procedures.”
An SPS spokesperson said: “We have been managing an extremely high and complex population for more than a year, with nine prisons now at red risk status, and this continues to place a strain on all areas of the organisation.
“It has an increasingly destabilising effect on our establishments, with staff unable to do the critical work of building relationships and supporting rehabilitation, and prisoners frustrated by the impact on their daily lives and the opportunities available to them.”
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