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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Polmont (HM Prison)

His Majesty's Young Offenders Institution Polmont is the largest young offender's institution in Scotland. It is located in the village of Reddingmuirhead.

HMP Polmont first opened as a Borstal in 1911 in the buildings of the former Blairlodge Academy. The Academy had been forced to close in 1908 due to financial difficulties and a subsequent outbreak of an infectious disease, and the Prison Commissioners bought the site in 1911.

It is designed to hold up to 760 inmates between the ages of 16 and 21, although there have been several reports and complaints about the presence of inmates younger than 16. Living conditions have also been criticised, including an alleged insufficency of food and the outdated practice of slopping out.

Notable inmates have included murderer Luke Mitchell, Chris Cunningham, star of BBC Scotland's The Scheme, and Aaron Campbell, convicted of carrying out one instance of child abduction, rape and murder.