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Criminal Justice Committee 22 February 2023

22 Feb 2023 · S6 · Criminal Justice Committee

Item of business

Transgender Prisoners and Scottish Prisons

Teresa Medhurst (Scottish Prison Service) Watch on SPTV

Good morning, convener and committee members. Excuse me—I have a bit of a cold, so I will try to work through that as we go through the session. Thank you for inviting me this morning. I hope that the session will allow me the opportunity to provide you all with greater clarity and understanding about how the Scottish Prison Service manages all people in our care. Although I know that the focus today is on the management of transgender individuals, my priority remains the health, safety and wellbeing of everyone who visits, lives in and works in our prisons, some of whom—Temporary loss of sound.—as well as the most marginalised and vulnerable in our society. The SPS has a proven track record of managing complex people. Society in general is subject to constant change and, in time, those changes impact on our own prison communities and affect how we manage those in our care. That requires us to evolve and adapt our operations to meet new challenges and changing dynamics. Every person sent to us by the courts comes to us with their own history and life circumstances that define them as individuals. That is why an individualised, person-centred approach is fundamental to our role as custodians and our position within the wider justice sector as a modern prison service. Daily, prison officers have to manage a range of often conflicting demands and risks presented to them by the individuals we care for, who can range from someone who belongs to a known serious and organised crime group to a first-time offender about whom we have little or no knowledge. Decisions on the management and placement of individuals, including transgender individuals, are made on an individual basis, informed by a multidisciplinary assessment of both risk and need. Such decisions seek to protect the wellbeing and rights of the individual, as well as those of the people around them, including staff, in order to achieve an outcome that balances risks and promotes the safety of all people who live and work in prisons. As part of our approach to operational risk assessment, proportionate management controls, such as removing an individual from contact with the wider population or additional security measures, will be introduced where new information suggests that that is necessary. Such decisions are not taken lightly. When such measures are required, the key consideration is always safety rather than punishment. That balanced approach helps to manage a perceived risk or threat, while continuing to support the wellbeing of the individual, with the aim of integrating the person into an appropriate mainstream location as soon as practicable. The population dynamic, which is constantly shifting and changing can be affected by both internal and external factors. That requires a responsiveness using well-established and practised operating systems in managing intelligence, profiling risks, making tactical interventions and applying an individualised case management approach through managing our policies and practice. The foundation of that approach is the relationships that exist and are developed between our staff and those in our care. Those relationships are key to creating a solid foundation for delivering effective services. Staff support people through difficult times, guiding them through their journey in custody and preparing them for an eventual return to society. I have more than 30 years’ operational experience working in prisons. They are unique environments and unlike other parts of the public sector. I have been the governor in charge of both male and female estates and have managed both trans women and trans men in custody. I also led the development of our transformative women’s strategy in response to the Dame Elish Angiolini report in 2012, which is delivering a step change in how we manage women in our care. Our trauma-informed and innovative strategy is supporting women to regain their independence and to learn skills that will support the best possible chance of a successful return to their communities. The SPS remains committed to providing person-centred care to our entire population, including managing identified risks that are not exclusive to transgender people in custody. That is supported by our staff, who continue to demonstrate long-standing expertise and a strong track record in the management and care of an increasingly complex prison population. Finally, I reiterate the point that I made at the start of my statement: my priority remains the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff and everyone in our care.

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Criminal Justice Committee 22 February 2023

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