Look at first ever women’s community custody unit in the UK The Bella Centre in Dundee

A new women’s community custodial unit, which will be the first of its kind in the UK, is set to open in Dundee.

The Bella Centre which focuses on “custody in the community” aims to change the way women in the justice system are supported in their reintegration back into society.

The 16-space unit which will open on August 1 is specifically designed with the needs of women in mind, and has no bars on the windows and no barbed wire or high walls and was designed to blend into the surrounding area.

Female offenders housed there will be encouraged to take responsibility for their own re-integration through community contact, access to local services and the development of independence.

The centre’s completion is part of a wider £600m plan to improve Scotland’s custodial estate. The Bella Centre will have a sister centre in Glasgow and work is progressing on a replacement for HMP YOI Cornton Vale, near Stirling.

Community safety minister Ash Regan said: “The Bella Centre marks a step change in the way Scotland supports women in custody, and is the first facility of its kind in the UK. It takes a gender-specific and trauma informed approach to better prepare women for re-integration back into their communities.

“Enhanced access to the community will enable women to retain family ties while allowing supportive partnerships in the locality to flourish. This visionary new centre has been specifically designed to better prepare women for release and to reduce reoffending.

“It relies heavily on collaboration with and between a wide range of partners, enabling a multi-disciplinary approach that will serve the rehabilitative needs of women, supporting them to reintegrate back into their communities.”

The facility has shared house-style accommodation with communal living spaces downstairs and individual bedrooms upstairs.

Women will be supported to develop life skills by taking responsibility for their own personal care, laundry and housekeeping.

There is also a Community Hub where women can meet with visitors and access a range of activities and local services which will help them to develop the skills and support networks necessary for successful reintegration into the community.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said every woman allocated to a community custody unit will have undergone a “robust” risk and needs assessment process.

SPS said: “The units will accommodate women of mixed custodial sentence lengths and women will, following appropriate risk assessments, have the opportunity to access the community.

“Living in the CCUs will enable these women to foster stronger and closer links within the appropriate community support agencies they will be working with prior to release.”