Justice secretary vows ‘lasting change’ after suicides at Polmont YOI

Scotland’s justice secretary has promised there will be “lasting change” following the deaths of two young people who took their own lives while in custody.

The families of Katie Allan, 21, and William Brown, 16 – who died within months of each other at Polmont Young Offenders Institution – were watching in Holyrood’s public gallery as Angela Constance said she expects work to be “delivered at pace” following a fatal accident inquiry into their deaths.

The Scottish Government has already accepted in full the findings and recommendations of the inquiry.

Constance met the families of Ms Allan and William – who was also known as William Lindsay – prior to the statement and expressed again her “deepest condolences” to them and to “all those affected by a death in custody”.

The justice secretary added: “It is through ongoing and decisive action that we will create the lasting change they rightly demand and deserve.”

Katie Allan and William Brown were both in Polmont YOI when they died by suicide in 2018 (Andrew Milligan/PA). PA Media

Ms Allan, a student at Glasgow University, was found dead on June 4, 2018, while serving a 16-month sentence for drink-driving and causing serious injury.

Mr Brown, who had made repeated attempts on his life in 2017, was found dead in his cell on October 7, three days after he was remanded at Polmont due to a lack of space in a children’s unit.

Prior to meeting Constance on Thursday, Ms Allan’s parents, Linda and Stuart, had insisted “now is the time” for action to make Scottish prisons safer.

Mr Allan said: “We’re fed up with sorrys and apologies etc for the deaths of Katie and William.

“Now is the time we actually want to see some action.”

In her statement to Holyrood, Constance said the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) – which runs Polmont – has established a task force to ensure all the recommendations from the FAI are acted upon.

Adding that substantial progress has already been made, the minister said she had visited Polmont last week and said the SPS had removed bunk beds from rooms which might be used for young people – with governors at other institutions where young people are locked up also told to follow suit.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said she visited Polmont YOI last week (PA). PA Media

In addition, two expert professors, who have both previously held senior roles at the Ministry of Justice, have been appointed as part of efforts by the SPS to “overhaul” its suicide prevention strategy.

Professor Graham Towl – who was an expert witness at the FAI – and Professor David Crighton are to carry out this work.

Constance said: “This work represents a commitment to real, lasting change, and their initial work will be completed by the end of the summer.”

She told MSPs the SPS had accepted its current anti-bullying policy “has not been effective”, with a new strategy to be developed this year.

She also said the Scottish Government is leading work to ensure a “consistent transfer of relevant information” takes place between the courts and prisons when someone is put into custody – adding it was “unacceptable” that information the courts had about William was not shared with the SPS.

With ministers having previously committed to an independent review of the FAI system which will look at the effectiveness of investigations into deaths in custody, Constance added “good progress” has been made towards developing a draft remit and that a chair for the review should be announced “shortly”.

She also said she will act to ensure close family members of those who die in custody can get legal aid for FAIs.

She said this will “ultimately” require new legislation, but she does “not want families to wait for this important support” and so will use ministerial powers to ensure this is in place from Monday April 7.

Linda Allan has called for an overhaul of the Scottish Prison Service’s suicide prevention strategy (Andrew Milligan/PA). PA Media

Mrs Allan had earlier called for an “overhaul” of the SPS suicide prevention programme Talk to Me, claiming it had made suicide rates rise instead of fall.

“It’s not worth the paper it’s written on and requires an overhaul by experts,” she said.

Lawyer Aamer Anwar, who is representing both families, repeated his earlier calls for the SPS to be made more accountable for the deaths through a lifting of Crown immunity that means the service cannot be prosecuted.

“The SPS is guilty of gaslighting these families, of lying to them, of covering up,” he said.

“They are guilty of corporate homicide, they are guilty of a breach of the health and safety regulation.”

SPS chief executive Teresa Medhurst has already said the organisation is “sincerely sorry” for the deaths, apologising for the SPS’s “failings”.

She added: “We recognise that their families want action, not words, and we are determined and committed to move at pace and that the actions we are setting out will be enduring and save many lives in the future.”