A north-east super jail has almost reached its maximum capacity, despite young offenders from the region being sent to other facilities in Scotland.
HMP Grampian in Peterhead came under fire last year when a Freedom of Information request revealed the prison had never run at full capacity.
Local councillors branded the facility a “white elephant” and claimed a prison half the size would have been a better investment of taxpayers’ money.
However, a new FOI request has confirmed the £140million complex is now accommodating significantly more prisoners than it was last January – when just 314 men and women occupied its halls.
Updated figures for this year highlight there are just over 50 beds left to fill at the prison, which was designed to house 552 inmates.
HMP Grampian has underfloor heating, football pitches and a gym and is regarded as being state of the art, but has been the subject of controversy before and after it opened in 2014.
Following riots just months after it came into use, young offenders have been shifted to YOI Polmont, near Falkirk.
Prisoners caused about £150,000 worth of damage to equipment in the jail during the incident on May 13 before officers, clad in riot gear, entered the facility and used Pava spray on prisoners.
It was the first time the spray had been employed since it was sanctioned in 2007.
There is now space for just 474 prisoners at Grampian. And 421 of those spaces are currently filled.
Meanwhile, efforts are continuing to return more young offenders to the area.
After revelations that the young offenders wing of HMP Grampian was being used as a training space for prison staff, north-east MSP Lewis Macdonald branded it “disappointing”.
He said: “Clearly, it could be brought back into use for exactly what it was built for. I hope – whatever they are doing – they don’t close the door on that possibility in the future.
“Hopefully, it can be opened if another government or management takes over in the future.”
The Scottish Prison Service has confirmed it will continue to assess the facility’s future.
