A Stirling prisoner has revealed she feels safer in jail in a new BBC documentary.
Jailed: Women In Prison follows inmates as HMP and YOI Stirling, which replaced Cornton Vale in 2024.
The purpose-built facility is Scotland’s national women’s prison and holds 117 inmates across eight housing units.
One prisoner whose story is shared in the fly-on-the-wall show is that of Linda.
Linda, from Glasgow, stays in Wintergreen hall, which is for prisoners with complex mental health issues.
She works as a cleaner in the ward and shares her cell with emotional support toy dog Jayce.
She was sent to jail for breach of the peace and assaulting a police officer.
Linda has Gomez-Lopez-Hernandez Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder which can cause various mental health challenges like anxiety and self-harm.
She said: “I don’t want to be out, it’s just safer in here.
“There was a wee girl on the news the other day that got murdered. A bit like me, vulnerable. I don’t want to be in that situation.
“This is the best I’ve ever done in my life. I’m not self-harming or whatever, I just feel better.
“(The best outcome is) to stay in here, for as long as I can.”
BBC documentary focuses on HMP and YOI Stirling
The hall’s head of residential, Gordon, said: “I think it is a cry for help for Linda.
“She seems to struggle in the community and cannot survive for lengthy periods of time without a constant support network around her.
“I think she knows she has that, in her head, when she comes to custody, she knows the staff are here on hand, all the time.”
Things start to look up for Linda, who enjoys spending time with fellow inmate April, as she gets a job in the laundry room.
Her positivity comes to a halt later in the episode, when she finds out she will be released.
Linda’s anger starts when she realises that prison officers have tagged the bag her support toy Jayce was put in.
Prison officer Shaun said: “Linda’s heard from the judge that she’s going to be liberated and that could have been the cause of the big spiral.
“She said some horrible things, deliberately trying to push boundaries with things she knows she’s not allowed to do.
“She lost both of her jobs within the laundry and the hall.”
Prisoner feels safer inside prison ward
Viewers learn that Linda is also put on suicide watch.
Shaun said: “She feels safer, despite being in a room called a safe room, because there’s constant staff interactions, every 15 minutes at least.
“She has numerous behavioural sides that aren’t within her control, her life has been terrible.”
Linda said: “We all have bad days, don’t we? There’s nothing I can do.
“I’ve self-harmed, lost my jobs. I don’t really know how to feel about it.
“At least I’ve got him (Jayce).”
The second episode follows both Linda and April as they leave the prison.
Episode three focuses on Iris, where each prisoner has been convicted.
The first two episodes will be repeated from 9pm on Saturday evening.
The third will air at 9pm next Tuesday.
You can watch all three on BBC iPlayer.
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