Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
Speaking Today (Thursday) on the publication of the HMIOP report on their inspection of HMP and YOI Cornton Vale, the SNP's Deputy Shadow Justice Minister Stewart Stevenson commented on the report.
Mr Stevenson said:
"The Prison Inspector is right to focus on the rise in the number of women being locked up in our jails.
"We know that we must lock up dangerous criminals who pose a threat to society, but there are still far too many people in prison who shouldn't be. We need a real solution to the problem of crime which affects our communities, because Labour and the Lib Dems are failing to control this serious problem.
"With many driven to crime by their addictions, it is unacceptable that addiction support services in Cornton Vale are struggling.
"In addition given that mental health problems are a significant feature of the prison's population, the reported reduction in psychology service is also particularly disturbing.
"Bored prisoners will look for escape in drugs and this is a problem that is absolutely avoidable.
"These are the reasons why I believe that it's time to examine allocating greater resources outside the current prison system. This will reduce overall costs and deliver better results for society, victims and offenders alike." Categories [Justice]
Karen Adam is now the MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast
