News
Chief Executive's Awards for SPS Staff
A number of staff from HMP Barlinnie, HMP Castle Huntly, HMP Edinburgh, HMP Low Moss, HMP Perth and HMYOI Polmont received Chief Executive Awards at a ceremony in Edinburgh on the 11th March 2015.
Residential Officers Graham Gillick and Graeme Wilkie de-escalated a potential incident in the health centre at HMP Barlinnie where an offender attempted to harm a Doctor. The actions of both officers were instantaneous and instinctive but undoubtedly prevented a serious incident from occurring.
Marshall Clark, Physical Education Instructor at HMP Castle Huntly, received his award for on-going work and commitment at the establishment. His activities embody the very spirit of the aims of the organisational review in the way he creatively harnesses the resources of the establishment to assist the community.
Operations Officer Pauline Anderson received her award for her high level of professionalism and care during an ACT case conference at HMP Edinburgh. Her observations and subsequent actions undoubtedly saved a woman from potential harm.
Catering Officers Michael Brice, Christopher McKeown, David Curr and Catering Manager Ritchie McCaul of HMP Edinburgh received awards for the way in which they dealt with a serious incident during the lunch period. All acted in a professional manner to deal with this dangerous situation and showed high levels of care and compassion for the victim. Their prompt actions undoubtedly helped to prevent further injury.
Jacqueline Gilchrist, Operations Officer, Duncan McGougan, Prisoner Management Officer and William Sweeney, Operations Unit Manager received their Chief Executive Award for organising a “First Day at School” event for fathers in HMP Low Moss who would not be at home to see their children attend their first day at school. The team identified an important day in a child’s life and this simple, but impactful, idea had a huge effect on those attending, leaving them with irreplaceable memories and helping to keep the family bond intact.
Prisoner Programmes Officer Gwen Davidson from HMP Perth, received her award for delivering in excess of 50 groups which have assisted over 500 prisoners to address their offending behaviour during her career. Gwen’s influence involves the continual development of herself and others in the quest of positively influencing the attitudes and beliefs of some of the most challenging individuals in Scotland.
Donald Colbron, Operational FLM and Operations Officers William Kerr and Ross Yule from HMP Perth received their award for the part they played in aiding a man who had cut his wrists and stomach. They all acted in a professional manner to deal with this situation and showed high levels of care and compassion for this individual. Their prompt actions undoubtedly helped to prevent further injury.
Residential Officers Andrew Agnew, Stuart Burnside, Scott Langlands, John Law, Alex McCallum and Kevin Sclater from HMP Perth received their award for providing an unrivalled level of care for a man who had the onset of alcohol-induced dementia. They all showed a high level of commitment, compassion and humility towards the individual and helped ensure that the man received the appropriate follow-up care upon his liberation and subsequent admission to a specialised hospital where his care needs could be fully met.
Lisa Hogg, Barnardos Team Leader for the “Outside In” project at HMYOI Polmont, received her award for driving forward youth work programmes, making a real difference to the lives of the young men who come into custody by presenting them with real alternatives to enable them to address their offending behaviour.
Staff members were presented their awards by Tom Fox, Head of Corporate Affairs on behalf of Colin McConnell, Chief Executive on Wednesday 11th March. Friends and family also attended.
