HMP Inverness

A small Victorian-era prison near the city centre

In shortInverness is one of Scotland’s smallest and oldest prisons, opened in 1902 and a five-minute walk from the city centre.

• Opened1902Crown area of Inverness
• Design capacity9376 cells
• Average population, 2025-26122Maximum daily 136 (Scottish Parliament research service); SPS page says 117 (undated)

HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) adds that the present prison relocated from Inverness Castle to what was then the rural parish of Porterfield, originally with 49 cells for 25 men and 10 women. Extensions and extra buildings have been added over time, including the gate complex, workshops and laundry.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) says Inverness serves courts in the Highlands, Islands and Moray, a large and diverse catchment area covering rural and urban communities.

• Adult and young male remand prisoners.
• Convicted adults serving up to four years.
• Others awaiting allocation or needing a period of management support, who tend to be serving long sentences including life.

What inspectors found in August 2022

In shortSix standards were satisfactory and three generally acceptable: an ill-suited building, but in some respects exceptional relationships.

• Inspected15 to 26 Aug 2022First full inspection since November 2017
• Satisfactory / generally acceptable6 / 3
• Good practice / recommendations23 / 67

The Chief Inspector said the prison was ill-suited to a modern system, particularly because of too few accessible cells, but called it in some respects exceptional. Staff-prisoner relationships were always friendly, respectful and supportive, in many cases outstandingly so, and a strong management and staff group had positive relationships with partner agencies.

• Standout: a new Recovery Wing with a SMART recovery programme close to being embedded.
• Standout: refurbished holding cells with a protocol to move anyone held longer than 72 hours to a separation unit elsewhere, and slick laundry processes.
• Standout: a robust review of long-term Talk to Me suicide-prevention cases, and good community reintegration partnerships using the “my compass” tracking tool.
• Privacy: reception searching and showering behind saloon doors that did not close fully breached privacy expectations; confidential release-planning conversations were hard to hold in the Links Centre.
• Space: some cells used as doubles were too small for two people under international minimum space standards.
• Safety: few violent incidents and most prisoners felt safe, but there were no cameras in residential areas and violent incidents were not reviewed systematically.
• Regime: staffing shortages meant a core day and no evening visits, and prisoners arriving between 5.30pm and 6.30pm had to wait in the van during the staff break.

Independent monitors in 2024-25

In shortMonitors said Inverness did well against the nine HMIPS standards, helped by positive staff-prisoner relationships.

• Visits in the year52+At least 52, with only one week missed

The Independent Prison Monitors (IPMs), volunteers appointed to monitor prisons, said prisoners made very low numbers of requests compared with other prisons. They attributed this to the commendable positive relationships between prisoners and staff, who resolved issues quickly together.

They described a well-run prison managing several different regimes for a very mixed population within an ageing facility with more limited resources for activity than larger, newer prisons.

• Some overpopulation was starting to be reported by staff around January 2025.
• They noted the Prisoner Information Guide given at induction and a robust process for calculating release dates.

HMP Highland: the replacement

In shortHMP Highland, a 200-place replacement at Eastfield Way, has slipped repeatedly; the latest report points to spring 2027.

• Places200More than 100 above the prison it replaces
• Contract£209mWith Balfour Beatty, announced 5 April 2024
• Latest reported completionSpring 2027Secondary report; check SPS announcements

The Scottish Government described HMP Highland as Scotland’s first net-zero prison with improved education and health facilities. The SPS Inverness careers page says it will be Scotland’s first zero direct emissions prison and allow more men from the Highlands and Islands to stay closer to families and services.

Working at Inverness

In shortInverness has a dedicated SPS careers page, around 100 officers, and a move to the new prison ahead for current staff.

• Prison OfficersAround 100Across Operations, Residential and Offender Outcomes

New starters undertake an Officer Foundation Programme, and on return to the prison have a dedicated mentor, an operational first line manager and peer support.

Inverness is one of three non-central-belt locations (with Dumfries and Grampian) where the SPS says it recruits officers, and the page links an HMP Highland candidate pack dated 3 October 2025.

• A move to the new prison is a feature of the role for current staff.
• HMIPS’s 2022 report also noted that staffing shortages were limiting the regime.