The Scottish Prison Service’s FAI Taskforce, working alongside colleagues in HMP & YOIs Polmont and Stirling, is delivering lasting and impactful improvements in how people are supported in custody.
The Taskforce was set up to deliver on Fatal Accident Inquiry recommendations.
Taskforce team members have been working hard across a number of themes and, over the coming weeks and months, a number of reports will be published.
The first publication is the delivery strategy, SPS Commitment to Change: Our approach to delivering Fatal Accident Inquiry Recommendations, which underpins the work already in progress.
Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, said: “Every life lost in our care is a tragedy for the individual themselves, their loved ones, and those who knew and supported them, and each loss deserves careful reflection and a compassionate response.
“We are all driven by the need to create safer, more compassionate environments for everyone who lives and works in our prisons, with better information sharing, enhanced training, stronger wellbeing support, and a culture of care that recognises vulnerability.”
The experiences of people in custody, and the staff who support them, is key to this work.
The Taskforce has been learning how technology can play a role in keeping people safe in custody and looking at changes to the physical environment.
At the same time, a new suicide prevention strategy is being developed to replace Talk to Me, which will transform how individuals in crisis are supported and ensure everyone feels safe and respected, and free from bullying or harmful behaviour.
The FAI Taskforce’s approach has been structured around key themes of suicide prevention; innovation and technology; bullying prevention; cell and personal safety; workforce support; and information sharing.
This rigorous and considered work, drawing on research and evidence, will deliver improvements for everyone living and working in Scotland’s prisons, and help staff in their important work of supporting people in one of the most vulnerable and challenging periods of their lives.