HMP Glasgow will not solve overpopulation woes, prison chief warns

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben said that HMP Glasgow, which will replace HMP Barlinnie, will not address the issue.

She added: “HMP Glasgow will only replace HMP Barlinnie, which doesn’t account for the whole estate having far too many people than they can usefully accommodate.”

Ms Sinclair-Gieben also noted that helping criminals with issues that brought them to prison “cannot be achieved” as a result of overcrowding.

The comments come in the wake of a report that revealed that HMP Low Moss in Bishopbriggs in East Dunbartonshire had “exceeded” its original design capacity.

Ms Sinclair-Gieben said: “For some considerable time the population has far exceeded the design capacity. And because the Scottish Prison Service has absolutely no control over the number of prisoners who come into their care, they have had to adapt by making small cells into double cells by putting in bunk beds.”