Vulnerable Prisoners in Scottish Prisons

• NCJ Number: 156757
• Author(s): R P Dobash; L Waterhouse; J Carnie; L Tait; E K Tisdall
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 98 pages
• Corporate Author: Scottish Prison Service
• Sale Source: Scottish Prison Service
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Scottish Prison Service Occasional Papers Report No. 1/1995.

Annotation

This analysis of inmates in protection in prison in Scotland revealed that although 71 percent had been convicted of sex offenses, 29 percent had been convicted of other offenses.

Abstract

The largest group, 43 percent, had been convicted of child sexual abuse. Once in protection, 70 percent of the inmates never left, and 40 percent never experienced mainstream circulation. About one-fourth of the protection prisoners had tried to commit suicide, usually while in protection. Protection prisoners were mostly between 20 and 30 years old. The majority held unskilled manual jobs when working. Three-fourths were unemployed prior to imprisonment. Long criminal records were the norm. Prison administrators reported a variety of provisions for vulnerable and protection prisoners, including individual and group sex offender treatment. The social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists surveyed were optimistic about the impact of their interventions, which amounted to weekly or biweekly sessions for up to 6 months at a time. Nearly all prison and mental health personnel believed that multidisciplinary cooperation could be improved in prisons. Most prison officers were willing to become more actively involved in future specialized programs for sex offenders. Figures, tables footnotes, appended list of inmate characteristics, and 11 references