INVERNESS PRISON GOVERNOR SPEAKS: Why we sentence too many to jail, Christmas, corruption and addiction at HMP Inverness

“We put away too many people who annoy us rather than those who are dangerous to society,” says Scott Watson, the governor of HMP Inverness.

He has been at the helm of the 120-year-old prison for the last year, but has 29 years’ of experience with the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).

He has seen many changes over the years – some for the better and others for the worse.

However, one thing has remained the same: the success stories are the ones who are never seen in the justice system again.

“We need to find balance in how we support people”, he explained.

“We will always need prisons, but we also need more community disposals. We need to protect the community, but we also just need to put away the people who need to be put away.

“A lot of people are inside because this is the one place they feel supported and safe, they get healthcare and are accepted. We need to make sure that is on the outside too.

“So many people leave here and have to choose between a house or a job because of the way the system is set up.”

Over the last few years, HMP Inverness has put more emphasis on supporting people with their addiction issues, working with partners in the local area.

Regular recovery meetings and a recovery café all take place within the site to provide people with the support they need.

However, one of the things that Mr Watson has noticed over his 29 years with SPS is the change in the type of drug use.

“It used to be cannabis and heroin mainly and you knew what people would act and react like.

“But now new synthetic drugs completely change people’s personalities. Staff are never sure what they are going to be coming up against.”

Drugs are still entering the prison through a variety of methods – including people going to courts for the day and the use of drones over the prison walls.

“As hard as staff work, there is always a way that drugs are smuggled in”, said Mr Watson.

Over the past 12 months, more incidents of corruption of prison staff have been seen in the media.

Speaking on this, Mr Watson said: “We do have some staff throughout the prison service, who are corrupt; who will join with that intention or through coercion. We have strong policies and robust action for this and seek to work with the police.

“Serious organised crime groups also target staff and offer bribes – but it is a small percentage of people operating in that manner.”

Generally, over the years, the relationship between prisoners and staff has improved, according to Mr Watson.

“The relationship between the staff and prisoners is much better. There has been a big change and there is a lot more professionalism now,” he said.

“Prison staff have a difficult role but they do it so well. They keep people safe and they help them. Some of the people we have should be in hospital as they have complex needs. Staff go above and beyond the call of duty and they really do care here and support our residents.”

Looking ahead, Mr Watson hopes to still be governor when HMP Highland opens in 2026. With a capacity of 200 people, it will provide more space for rehabilitation and allow more residents to stay closer to home rather than being sent to prisons further afield.

He said: “Today we are sitting at 107 prisoners and the design cap is 93 so we are at 115 per cent. We can go up 133 though.

“At the moment our biggest challenge is having to transfer people south so then it becomes more difficult to support people.

“If we are over capacity then it gets harder to issue meals, have access to showers, the gym and recovery takes longer.

“The new prison will allow us to continue doing the good work we are doing but in a better facility.”

One thing that Mr Watson insists prison is not: a holiday.

He said: “The biggest misconception people have is that prison is a luxury and easy.

“But essentially people are not here to be punished, being here is the punishment, so they then go out responsible citizens.”

Christmas is included in this, with the prison not making a big fuss out of the holiday.

Scott said: “Christmas is fairly muted as people are away from their family. There are some competitions and carol services with the chaplain.

“They get a few extra pounds on their phones to call their families and a small selection box.

“We have a Christmas lunch but at the end of the day, it is still a prison lunch.”