iStockThe human rights of people held in detention in Scotland are in “jeopardy” amid an “unacceptable” level of inaction by the Scottish Government over the past three decades.
Ministers have been warned for years about issues within Scotland’s prisons but dozens of recommendations remain unmet, a report by the Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and UK National Preventive Mechanism found.
It said 24 out of 29 recommendations to the Government to improve human rights had shown “little or no progress”.
The watchdog raised concerns about the “glacial pace” in tackling suicides, mental health and overcrowding in prisons and forensic mental health settings.
It comes as hundreds of prisoners are being released early in an effort to curb overcrowding.
Earlier this month, a 17-year-old boy died at Polmont Young Offenders Institute, two years after the Scottish Government pledged to stop sending under-18s there.
Since then, pressure has grown on the Government to confirm when the law preventing 16 and 17 year olds being placed in young offenders institutes will be implemented.
The report highlighted gaps in the protection of human rights for prisoners including the “widespread” use of segregation and a failure to meet the minimum requirement of two hours of human contact per day.
The SHRC said there was an inadequate provision for mental healthcare in prisons amid a rising level of suicides in detention.
It said a lack of a specialised highly secure psychiatric unit for women in Scotland’s prisons meant they were not getting access to mental healthcare without being transferred 300 miles to a facility in England.
And it warned of gaps in the system for investigations of deaths in prisons, and that there is no independent system for investigating deaths of people detained in mental health settings in Scotland.
Under human rights laws, absolute rights such as the right to life and protection from inhumane and degrading treatment must never be breached.
Shelley Gray, member of the SHRC, said: “As Scotland moves to bring into law additional human rights in a Human Rights Bill, it is important to consider the state of progress on rights long protected in law.
“Absolute rights are the most fundamental of human rights and there is no excuse for allowing these breaches or failing to act when these rights are at risk.
“The level of inaction and delay is no longer acceptable, and we want to see these important human rights concerns addressed by the Scottish Government with the urgency they deserve.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “While the Scottish Human Rights Commission’s report highlights we have taken significant action to upgrade the female prison estate, tackle substance use and improve staffing, we recognise there is more to do.
“As the report states, these are complex and wide-ranging issues and we are taking action, including bringing forward measures to improve the use of restraint on childen in detention, implementing the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison Custody and work to improve female mental health care.”
The Scottish Prison Service has been approached for comment.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
