HMP Perth

Scotland’s oldest occupied prison

In shortPerth Prison was built by Napoleonic prisoners of war in 1810 to 1812 and is Scotland’s oldest occupied prison.

The prison is about a mile south of Perth city centre on Edinburgh Road. There is also a 14-cell separation and reintegration unit. NHS Tayside provides healthcare and Fife College the learning service.

• The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) describes it as a large community-facing prison taking men from the courts of Perth and Kinross, Dundee, Angus and Fife.
• It manages adult men on remand, short-term, long-term, life and extended sentences, and men convicted of sexual offences.

Capacity and population

In shortPerth has an unusually high level of remand prisoners and generally worked well despite significant overcrowding.

• Design capacity (SPS FOI, 9 Sep 2025)631The SPS page gives over 630 and an average population of 678 (undated)
• Agreed capacity (May 2023)660Population of 647 on the first day of inspection

HMIPS noted that the population had changed in complexity since the previous inspection in May 2018 and that Perth had an unusually high level of remand prisoners, which makes running a regime challenging.

The Independent Prison Monitors (IPMs) wrote in their 2024-25 report that the prison generally worked well despite significant overcrowding, with several cells used as doubles well below internationally recognised minimum space standards.

The May 2023 full inspection

In shortSeven of nine standards were satisfactory and two generally acceptable; the deepest concern was small double cells.

• Inspected22 to 26 May 2023A sound and encouraging report with strong management and a committed staff group
• Satisfactory / generally acceptable7 / 2
• Recommendations73
• B Hall doubles7.56 m²6.74 once the toilet area was deducted; Council of Europe minimum for a double is 8 m²

Relationships throughout the prison were largely positive and respectful, contributing to a sense of safety and good order.

The deepest concern was the age and design of some buildings: small double cells in A and B Halls, a concern raised in 2014 and 2018. Inspectors said the B Hall doubles barely met the requirement for a single cell.

Recommendation 9 was for SPS headquarters to reconfigure these cells so they could hold only one person.

• Substance use: staff, prisoners and management were anxious about illicit substances, with drones delivering large quantities of contraband; the prison was praised for a proactive approach and for acting as a pilot site for the Medication Assisted Treatment Standards, plus a recovery hub run with people with lived experience.
• Activity and programmes: two new employment initiatives offering accreditation were welcomed, but the library had stayed closed since the pandemic and there was a lack of accredited programmes.
• Perception gap: the pre-inspection survey results were worrying and did not wholly match inspection findings; inspectors said this gap needed to be addressed.

Monitors’ view in 2024-25

In shortMonitors said Perth generally worked well, with progression opportunities the other recurring concern.

The IPMs ensured a statutory monitoring visit in all but one week of the year. Their summary was that the prison generally worked well, that staff did as well as they could to manage double-occupancy cells, and that prisoners complained little about sharing.

The other recurring concern was a lack of opportunity for progression, which the IPMs recognised as a national issue affecting prisoners’ ability to move to the open estate and gain parole.

• Statutory monitoring visit made in all but one week of the year.

Working at Perth

In shortPerth is in the SPS central-belt recruitment area on SPS terms, with a mentoring scheme being established.

Perth sits within the SPS central-belt recruitment area. Terms are set by the SPS, not HMPPS.

• The 2023 inspection describes a staff mentoring scheme being established.
• An officer-led pilot in which officers ran evening activities for groups of prisoners to increase interaction.
• An established training programme for new recruits and transferees, and workforce planning meetings keeping staffing close to complement.
• It also records many staff out of competence in some core training areas.