PRISONERS were stripped of "human dignity" after being brought to court dressed only in their underwear or their pyjamas, a damning inspector report has claimed.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons in Scotland (HMIPS) condemned Police Scotland for the "unacceptable" practice when it came to light during a routine visit to Edinburgh Sheriff Court.
Prison reform campaigners have described the situation as “appalling”, and have called on officers to treat those in custody with "respect".
HMIPS watchdogs observed prisoners being escorted from vans in their nightclothes, while one was in his underwear and another had no shoes on his feet, during a visit to Edinburgh Sheriff Court on June 18 this year.
An HMIPS report, which praised other aspects of the Edinburgh Court Custody Unit (CCU), said the issue was "concerning", and urged Police Scotland to take steps to ensure it was not repeated.
The report said: "Police Scotland should ensure that those arriving from police custody are appropriately dressed for the journey and their subsequent court appearance.
"It was concerning to observe prisoners being removed from escort vans in their nightclothes and one prisoner appeared to be in his underwear and one prisoner had no footwear.
"It is unacceptable that individuals are expected to appear in a court of law in their underwear or nightclothes."
However, Pete White, Chief Executive of the penal rights pressure group Positive Prison? Positive Futures said the situation was "appalling" and called for it to end immediately.
He said: "This is wholly unacceptable and possibly a violation of the people concerned human rights.
"It is so wrong. It is degrading and appalling. Even though they are prisoners they have the right to some form of human dignity and respect.
"Surely there must be a way that some form of clothing could be found for them before they are brought into court?"
Dr Louise Brangan, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at prison reform group the Howard League Scotland, echoed Mr White's concerns, saying that the prisoners had been humiliated by the experience.
She said: “All sites of detention in Scotland must protect people who are confined from degrading treatment.
"It is not acceptable that anyone held in police custody is brought to court without any decent clothing, this is a humiliating indignity, and one that is surely avoidable.
"Provisions and safeguards must be in place to ensure that this kind of practice does not occur under any circumstances.”
Aside from the issue of prisoners' clothing, the HMIPS report found that the Edinburgh CCU was a well-run facility with motivated, well-led staff.
The inspectors report said it was "evident" that individual team members supported each other, and were operating with a clear vision of what they wanted to achieve.
However, there were additional concerns about the provision of prisoners' medical information, which inspectors said Police Scotland had stopped supplying "some months ago".
The report said: "The escort contractor and the Scottish Prinson Service’ contract monitoring unit must review this situation as a matter of some urgency, to ensure that custody staff have the information they require for the safe management of individuals in their care."
HMIPS also said that prisoners without English as a first language or with limited communication skills should have better access to translators and support to help them negotiate the court system.
The report added: "In order to achieve this, staff at the court must have ready access to and the authority to access the appropriate services.”
- Herald View: Prisoners must appear in court properly dressed
Chief Superintendent Garry McEwan, head of Criminal Justice Services Division, Police Scotland said: "We note the report published by HMIP(S) today and are keen to work with our partners on the recommendations. Police Scotland ensure that all those in Police Custody are treated with dignity and respect.
"Alternative footwear and clothing is stocked in all primary suites and where practical is offered.
"All relevant health information is recorded as part of the Personal Escort Record which remains with the prisoner when they are transferred in the custody of G4S."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel