On 1November 2011, HMP Open Estate was amalgamated on one site at Castle Huntly. The design capacity provides 285 prisoner places, with the potential for additional places to be provided through the adoption of Continuous Cell Occupancy (CCO) which involves those prisoners deemed appropriate to participate in the home leave scheme. Castle Huntly is located on the outskirts of Longforgan, 3 miles west of Dundee, and is an open prison holding the full range of low supervision adult male prisoners serving 18 months and over, including life sentence prisoners; all of whom have been assessed as suitable to serve part of their sentence in open conditions. Whilst some prisoners, dependent upon sentence length, can spend up to 24 months in open conditions; the average length of stay is 6 to 9 months. The regime operated focuses on providing employment training and transitional through-care for prisoners working towards a structured and gradual reintegration into their communities. The successful Community Support Initiative, which involves prisoners from the Open Estate participating in projects to enhance local communities, will continue to operate from Castle Huntly.

Open Estate Vision

To work with all our partners to facilitate and assist with the integration of prisoners back into our communities.

To strive to reduce recidivism and contribute to a safer and stronger Scotland.

We Will Achieve This By

Supporting, encouraging and assisting prisoners to recognise and address their identified needs and empowering them to make positive personal change.

Nurturing a sense of responsibility to improve relationships with their families and communities.