The untimely deaths of William Lindsay and Katie Allan could and should have been avoided. The two young Scots both died by suicide in separate incidents at Polmont Young Offenders Institution in 2018.
A long-running fatal accident inquiry has now delivered a damning verdict on the Scottish Prison Service as well as the health system inmates rely on.
The report has made 25 recommendations, including for the prison service to take practical steps to make cells safer and better suicide prevention support. It comes too late for William or Katie.
But when implemented, these recommendations will be a lasting legacy for the Allan and Lindsay families, who have campaigned tirelessly for justice. Too often the authorities have treated suicide in prisons as an unfortunate reality which can’t be avoided. That will no longer be the case.
The wider question now has to be asked about the jailing of young people – and whether William or Katie should have been behind bars at all.
There will be times when there is no other alternative to a custodial sentence for young offenders. It is often necessary to protect the public and punish wrongdoing.
But many people in our youth justice system have serious mental health problems or have suffered serious trauma in their lives.
For many, community support would be a better way to help them become useful members of society. Vulnerable youngsters deserve care and attention, regardless of whether they are in prison or not.
And those who do find themselves detained must be properly looked after.
They deserve a second chance.
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No laughing matter
It’s difficult to understand what possesses anyone to make a prank call to the emergency services. All right-thinking people can grasp the pressures facing 999 call handlers and paramedics.
It’s shocking to learn that more than 11,000 prank calls have been made to the Scottish Ambulance Service in the last decade.
These immature “jokers” are putting lives at risk. It could be their own loved ones who are kept waiting for life-saving treatment as a result.
Ambulance waiting times have risen steadily in recent years as demand has risen. It’s awful to think the situation is being made worse by such thoughtless time-wasters.
Such reckless behaviour cannot be tolerated, and those traced and caught deserve to face the full force of the law. There can be no excuses for wasting the time of our emergency services.
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