Scotland's only women's prison in 'crisis' state

Scotland's only women's prison in 'crisis' state

The governor of Scotland's only women's prison has admitted that most of those held there should not be in jail.



Teresa Medhurst said many prisoners have such complex problems they actually feel safer at Cornton Vale than at home.

Her remarks come as the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Brig Hugh Monro, said the jail was "in crisis" and "drifting".

His report said the problems are due to overcrowding and the fact the prison has had three governors in 14 months.

The perennial problem of overcrowding causes significant problems - and it has worsened in recent years.

As many as 420 women have been held in the Stirlingshire prison, more than twice as many as 10 years ago.

If Scotland cannot even run its one and only women's prison properly, how can it manage to run the country?