Executive Agency of the Scottish Government overview | |
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Formed | 1993 |
Jurisdiction | Scotland |
Headquarters | Calton House, 5 Redheughs Rigg, Edinburgh, EH12 9HW |
Employees | 4,000 |
Minister responsible | |
Executive Agency of the Scottish Government executive |
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Website | sps |
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) (Scottish Gaelic: Seirbheis nam Prìosan Albannach) is an executive agency of the Scottish Government tasked with managing prisons and Young Offender Institutions.
The Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, currently Colin McConnell, is responsible for its administration and reports to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, who is responsible for the Scottish Prison Service within the Scottish Government.
There are fifteen prison establishments in the country, two of which are privately managed. The SPS employs over 4,000 staff, with its headquarters in Calton House, located in South Gyle, Edinburgh.
The current Chief Executive is Colin McConnell and supporting him is the SPS Board consisting of:
HMP Addiewell and HMP Kilmarnock are both privately managed under contract to the SPS.
In November 2003 SPS signed a contract on behalf of Scottish Ministers for a "Prisoner Escort and Court Custody Service". This contract with Reliance Custodial Services provides for all prisoner escorting between police cells, court, prisons and hospitals as well as covering escorts from prison such as funerals, hospital appointments and community placements. In 2012, SPS contracted this service out to G4S.
Some prisoners are detained in a secure psychiatric hospital. This is run by the Scottish National Health Service rather than the SPS.