Prisons in Scotland are staffed by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) – a Scottish Government agency, entirely separate from HMPPS, which employs staff in England & Wales. Pay, grading, and terms and conditions are all set separately by SPS.
Just like in England & Wales, you’ll come across a range of different roles day to day:
- Prison Officers – the frontline staff you’ll see most often, running the halls and the day-to-day routine.
- Personal Officer – your named point of contact (there’s more on this on our separate page).
- Governor grades – senior managers responsible for running the prison.
- Social work and throughcare staff – local authority criminal justice social workers help with sentence planning and release.
- Healthcare staff – in Scotland, prison healthcare is provided by the NHS, not by SPS directly.