Critics of Scotland’s prisons often compare it to a holiday camp with luxury facilities. But for Jim Watson, who has been to jail, the system needs fundamental change.
Former accountant Jim was convicted of embezzlement in 2012, at the age of 45, and spent eight months in HMP Low Moss before finishing his sentence on licence under a home detention curfew.
Since being released over a decade ago, Jim has become an associate lecturer in criminal justice and regularly advises prison inspectors.
Jim, a co-founder of the Prison Expert Group, warns the system is on the brink of ‘eruption’ because of excessive overcrowding and a lack of progression.
In Scotland’s most notorious prison – HMP Barlinnie – prisoners are in their cell alongside another inmate for up to 23 hours a day.
“What’s it like to share a cell? Picture a complete stranger coming into your small space. Try and put yourself into that headspace where everything you do is in front of them,” he said.
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“Think about using the toilet in front on someone else. In some prisons, it’s also the space where you eat your dinner and it’s where you sleep.
“The spaces are very, very small. A lot of the jails are old Victorian jails and they were not well known for their progressive prison policies. So when they were designed for a single person, they were designed to punish.”
He added: “Overcrowding is putting extra demand on a regime that is struggling to get people out for the minimum of one hour a day for fresh air.
“We have to do something about it. If we don’t the risks of the place erupting are huge.”
Jim’s experience in prison more than a decade ago shows how fragile the environment can be – and that was before overcrowding reached record levels.
Recalling the volatile environment, Jim said: “It’s not a pleasant place. It kicks off very easily. I once seen a guy get a plate off of his windpipe because of an argument over black pudding.”
And his work with current inmate makes him think Scotland’s prisons are “absolutely” at risk of rioting.
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“There’s very small scale stuff happening in prisons at the moment but you can feel the tension,” he explained.
“Prisons are placed that are fraught with toxic behaviour, toxic masculinity and there’s always a feeling that it can kick off at any point.
“You go into Barlinnie any day of the week and you feel you’re on your toes constantly. You’re always looking about, you’re always watching.
“It’s worse when you’re a prisoner in that environment. It’s constantly on your mind.
“Some of the stories prisoners tell me about the screams they hear from someone that is getting beat up, is almost daily.”
The academic also laughed off criticism of Scottish prisons as being like a holiday camp. The stereotype that follows prisoners is that they’re given access to mobile phones, televisions and consoles in their cells.
But as an ex-con who regularly oversees prison inspections, Jim bats down that criticism.
“If people think prison is like a holiday camp then it is very difficult to dissuade them,” he argued.
“There is a lack of regime, a lack of progression. They have been locked up too much. There is no work being done and criminal behaviour isn’t being addressed.
“It’s terribly, terribly bad for people inside.
“All of the bits that make you feel human fall away. It’s a very dehumanising process. It’s very demeaning and restrictive.
“Some people will say ‘good that’s how it’s meant to be’. But the punishment is a loss of your liberty. If we want people coming out being more angry and more restrictive and more likely to commit a crime, then let’s keep doing what we’re doing.
“For a lot of guys, their sentence really starts when they leave prison because of the stigma attached to it and a lot of that comes from the ‘it’s a holiday camp’ attitude.”
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