Safety action plan accepted after suicides at Polmont

The Scottish Prison Service has accepted all the recommendations made following the suicides of two young people at a young offenders' institution.

In January a sheriff concluded that the deaths of Katie Allan, 21, and William Brown, 16, also known as William Lindsay, could have been avoided but for a "catalogue of failures".

They took their own lives in separate incidents at Polmont Young Offenders Institution in 2018.

A lawyer acting for their families said apologies by the Scottish Prison Service were "too little and too late".

A fatal accident inquiry heard how both inmates were vulnerable while at the Polmont facility near Falkirk.

In a damning assessment of the Scottish Prison Service and healthcare services, Sheriff Simon Collins KC also found that reasonable precautions could have been taken to avoid their deaths.

The sheriff made 25 recommendations, including for the prison service to make definite and practical steps to make cells safer.

And he criticised the failure for this to happen in the years since Katie and William's deaths.

In its response to the recommendations, the SPS said it had committed to "rapid and systemic change" following the FAI.

"We have accepted all of the recommendations made in Sheriff Collins's determination, in full, and are committed to a range of actions which will be enduring, impactful, and lifesaving," it said.

"The response includes an overhaul of our suicide prevention policy, Talk To Me, based on the advice of independent experts; additional protective support for young people in custody in their first 72 hours following admission; and work to make the rooms that people live in as safe as possible.

"Some actions have already been completed, while others are under way."

The SPS said all bunk beds had been removed from the rooms of young people in HMP & YOI Polmont, as well as rectangular doorstops, to improve safety.

It has also introduced "concern lines" into every establishment in Scotland, which friends, family members, and support agencies can call to raise a concern directly with staff on the hall.

It said a bespoke tool kit would be used to audit rooms for any potential ligature points at Polmont in the summer, before being rolled out across the whole estate.

The statement said this would not only be used to ensure that rooms were safe, but to make sure they remained safe.

Teresa Medhurst, the SPS chief executive, said: "We are sincerely sorry and we apologise for the deaths of Katie and William and our failings which were identified in the determination.

"We recognise that their families want action, not words, and we are determined and committed to move at pace and that the actions we are setting out today will be enduring and impactful and will save many lives in the future."

In its response, the Scottish government said the deaths "serve as a stark reminder" of the responsibility to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those in SPS's care.

It said: "It is essential we take meaningful action to deliver the recommendations in full, improve our policies and practice and prevent such tragedies in the future.

"This includes strengthening safeguards, ensuring access to mental health support, ensuring staff are equipped to identify and respond to those at risk and foster an environment where individuals feel heard, supported and protected."

The statement added: "SPS recognise the pain and loss experienced by families, friends and all of those affected by William and Katie's death and reiterate their deepest and sincere condolences.

"SPS recognise no words can undo this loss and are dedicated to ensuring lessons learned lead to actions which are real and result in lasting improvements."

Aamer Anwar, who represents both families said: "For my clients, those apologies are too little and too late, they should of course be apologising to every family member of a prisoner that took their own lives.

"Katie and William's families do not want the SPS's empty soulless words of sorrow and condolences.

"For over six years they denied the truth, lied and conducted a whitewash, they gaslighted the families, and the fact is some should be facing criminal prosecution, but whilst Crown Immunity remains, they will remain secure in their lack of accountability.

"The Scottish Prison Service, former prison governors, senior management at Polmont and the Forth Valley Heath Board, should all hang their heads in shame for the suicides that took place on their watch."

The lawyer questioned why it had taken seven years for the SPS to finally remove ligature points and double bunk beds from single occupancy cells.

"The lack of accountability across the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) has led to Scotland having one of the highest avoidable mortality rates in prison custody, that will only continue if the UK government does not take away crown immunity from our public prisons," he said.

"There was nothing inevitable about William and Katie taking their own lives, it was clear to anybody that cared to look, that they were vulnerable and at risk of taking their own lives.

"The SPS still fails to understand the culture they perpetuate institutionalises violence and increases the risk of suicide."

Sheriff Collins found that William's death resulted from a catalogue of individual and collective failures by SPS and healthcare staff at Polmont.

He said "almost all of those who interacted with him were at fault to some extent."

He said a reasonable precaution would have been to have kept William – who had a history of attempting suicide – on observations.

He was removed from observations the morning after he arrived at a case conference. The sheriff also found that the cell he was accommodated in could have been made safe for him.

William had been arrested after walking into Saracen Street police station in Glasgow while carrying a knife.

He was remanded in custody after being deemed a "potential risk to public safety" three days before his death because there was no space in a children's secure unit.

In Katie's case, the sheriff found that there were multiple failures by prison and healthcare staff to properly identify, record and share information relevant to her risk.

However, he said that even with the benefit of hindsight, her death had been spontaneous and unpredictable.

Sheriff Collins found that if the Glasgow University student's cell had been made safe - which could have been done without significant cost - her death would not have happened.

There was a safety issue with the cell that had long been known to the SPS.

Katie was serving a 16-month sentence for dangerous and drink driving following a hit-and-run.