Exclusive: Scotland's male and female prisoners would be mixed together and located nearer their homes under plans being devised by the prison service.

Scotland's male and female prisoners would be mixed together and located nearer their homes under plans being devised by the prison service.

Officials are discussing plans for "community-facing" prisons to help maintain better links with family and services including GPs and housing, to curb reoffending on release.

The announcement comes as two more inmates at Castle Huntly open prison in Tayside went on the run, bringing the total number of absconders since April to 10. Last year, a total of 59 inmates went missing.

Under new proposals, purpose-built centres would hold both remand and convicted prisoners of both sexes as an alternative to specialist jails for women, sex offenders or young offenders. The plan would see women and sex offenders more widely dispersed across the country rather than held in specialist jails such as Peterhead.

Speaking exclusively to The Herald, Ian Gunn, governor of Cornton Vale, Scotland's female prison, said he would back the move as long as appropriate services were provided for women.

"Ideally we would shake up the whole population and move them to the nearest place to where they will live when they leave prison," said Mr Gunn.

The new approach will be first tested at HMP Grampian, due to be built on the existing site of Peterhead Prison. Set to open in 2012, it will hold 500 inmates and will mark the first stage in a process aimed at moving women and other offenders closer to their homes.

Mr Gunn added: "In future we would not need a Cornton Vale of 400 females. You might have a population of just 100. We have only got about 80 long-termers serving four years or more and less than 20 lifers. We could have a viable population of long termers and local people housed here and then other women housed in other prisons in Scotland. It is a long way in the future."

He added: "HMP Grampian will be custom built. Trying to operate different populations and separate regimes within the same prison would be immensely complicated unless they are purpose built. It would mean females and young offenders would need to be put together but there are specific rules about keeping them separate."

Scotland's prison population has reached a record high of 8105 and earlier this month the Prisons Commission, chaired by Henry McLeish, called for a reduction of 3000-4000 and an end to sentences of six months or less.

Kenny MacAskill, the Justice Secretary, has also made it clear "we cannot go on with the status quo".

Cornton Vale, like all of Scotland's jails, is facing overcrowding. In June the population reached 415 with 430 inmates expected by September.

Mr Gunn said he would advocate a cap on numbers, a measure mooted and rejected by the previous executive, as long as there was some flexibility in approach.

"Once we hit 430, life becomes very difficult. A cap on numbers would be an absolute luxury.

"My concern then would be about what would happen to the most vulnerable women for whom prison may be the safest place to be. Unless there was somewhere else for them to go I would hate to be the one to say sorry we're full," Mr Gunn said.

The Scottish Government is expected to respond to the McLeish report in the autumn and minsters have made it clear they favour far greater use of community "payback" and a move away from repeatedly sending offenders to prison for short sentences that cannot rehabilitate them. A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said: "HMP Grampian will be purpose built. It is a prison which will have to cater for everyone.

"If we develop more and more community facing prisons and disperse the female population into accommodation across Scotland, designed to meet their needs, we become less dependent on Cornton Vale."