Inspectors praise custody staff at ‘well-run’ facility but say ‘unhygienic’ prisoner toilets require urgent upgrade

Inspectors have praised custody staff at Aberdeen Sheriff Court but said “unhygienic” prisoner toilets require an urgent upgrade.

The custody unit is well run by motivated staff who enjoy respectful relationships with prisoners, their report states.

However cell walls and ceilings were said to be covered in graffiti while prisoner toilets were in an unhygienic state when viewed in December.

On the day of the inspection there were 31 people in custody and only one toilet in use.

The team made 15 recommendations, including a toilet refurbishment and the greater use of video links to reduce the number of prisoners required to appear at court.

They said consideration should be given to the level of risk posed by prisoners queuing to be processed in the narrow corridor leading to the custody unit.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, HM chief inspector of Prisons for Scotland, said: “Inspectors found the Court Custody Unit (CCU) to be a well-run facility with staff that were clearly well motivated, well-led and working well as a team.

“Staff-prisoner relationships were decent and respectful.”

She added: “Tensions occurred when prisoners were being removed from escort vans, and the ensuing queuing in a narrow corridor added unnecessary risk to the movement of prisoners.

“The difficulties experienced in many Scottish CCUs with overcrowding, disability access and movement tensions, could be addressed through greater use of video-link courts and this should be actively considered and encouraged.”

In response to the findings a spokesperson for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service said: “The SCTS is working in partnership with the prisoner escorting provider to drive improvement and maintain standards within the custody suites.

“As with other CCUs, the Aberdeen unit is regularly repainted and we will be taking steps to remove any offensive graffiti.

“The SCTS has an existing project in place managing the rollout of the equipment required for VC links (from courts to prisons) and that option is now available in 33 of the 39 sheriff courts, including Aberdeen, as well as our 3 dedicated High Court Venues (Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen).”