Sunday, March 11, 2007

Prisoners treated better than our children?



Dr Gordon Low wrote a letter to the Bishopbriggs Herald highlighting the way the Council have treated our children compared to how prisoners at Low Moss prison are treated.

During last year's public inquiry into the proposed new prison at Low Moss, Scottish Prison Service (SPS) were at pains to stress the urgency of building prisons to meet the rising prisoner population.
So it's a bit surprising now to find that they can manage quite happily for the next two years with one fewer prison. (Bishopbriggs Herald, 28th February)
But then, the SPS would tell us that they're seeking to accommodate twice the number of inmates in a state-of-the-art complex, complete with its own dedicated sports facilities and requiring the flexibility afforded by the utilisation of the whole available site.
So presumably the site has to be cleared before building work can begin, as trying to construct the new prison round the existing buildings would hopelessly compromise the design.
And of course, the SPS would probably consider it unreasonable to expect prisoners to have to live in a building site for two years.
Fair enough, perhaps. Yet it does seem just a bit ironic that the latter approach is exactly the construction methodology being employed by East Dunbartonshire Council to accommodate twice the school role at the new Bishopbriggs Academy, and with exactly the consequences the SPS are avoiding at Low Moss.
And that's before the council sells off part of the school site to the developers.
It wouldn't be good enough for the prisoners (and who would argue the point?) but apparently it's good enough for our school pupils.



Digg!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ken low says he's an economist, but his counting cant be up to much as he had 257 words on his election address for the school board and youre only allowed 250.