Lilias: Could a new approach to women’s prisons help ease Scotland’s overcrowding crisis?

Scotland’s overcrowded prison system is facing a deepening crisis, but a different approach to custody for women is showing early signs of cutting reoffending.

At the Lilias community custody unit in Glasgow, women are living in flats rather than cells, working in the local community and, in some cases, leaving the facility during the day.

The Lilias is designed for women who require lower levels of supervision, with specialist support at the heart of the model.

Inmates are not kept in traditional cells. Instead, there are four accommodation blocks divided into flats.

It’s been invaluable to Molly, who spoke to STV News on the condition of anonymity.

She was moved to Lilias from Scotland’s only mainstream women’s prison, HMP Stirling, after being convicted of an embezzlement charge.

She says years of mental health battles had preceded her imprisonment, but the smaller environment at Lilias has helped her feel more like an individual than a prisoner.

“I did a bad thing but I’m not a bad person,” said Molly.

“I had a lot of years of mental health battles in the run-up to even coming into prison. In here, you do not feel like a number. In a bigger prison, there are so many people, there are so many different dynamics.

“But in here, every officer knows you, they know your name, they know your family, how to help you.”

It appears the Lilias model is working as early signs show reoffending rates are down by around 11% compared with the national average.

Gary Clelland, community custody unit manager at Lilias, said: “We had five residents here who were all successful in gaining parole, so that for me provides a very positive outcome that we are getting it right.

“But when the residents go to the parole board, providing that pivotal evidence that they have been out on home leave, out on unescorted day releases, at work placements, they have identified and provided the evidence of the support that’s been required here.”

For the Scottish Prison Service, the approach reflects a wider emphasis on rehabilitation and preparing people for a return to the community.

The country’s prison population has reached levels never previously recorded, with the number of people in custody significantly exceeding the estate’s design capacity.

Emergency measures have been brought in by the Scottish Government to manage the overcrowding crisis, including early release initiatives.

Barlinnie in Glasgow is the country’s largest prison and is overcapacity by more than 30%.

A £1bn pound replacement for the ageing estate is under construction but as it stands, it’s not going to be large enough to meet the demand.

Justice Secretary Neil Gray said: “Obviously, we want as a government to move to a more preventative approach across the board, whether that’s in justice, health or other parts of the public sector.

“So the prioritisation of moving to a more preventative approach is one you’ll see across government and our agenda.”