FOR the first time since opening in 2022, media were invited into the Bella Centre, one of two Community Custody Units for women in Scotland.
The centre, in Dundee, was the first of its kind in the UK. A completely new and innovative custodial environment, it marked a step-change in the way Scotland supports women in custody, with a focus on ‘custody in the community’.
Drawing on international best practice, this new model of custody gives women wider opportunities to explore and understand the life circumstances and choices that have led them to being in prison.
One resident said “The discourse and narrative of prisoners is that they're scumbags but a lot of us are full of guilt, remorse and shame before we even come to prison - the lifestyle we lead, the things that have happened to us, the trauma that we've been through.”
She describes Bella as a place that “builds people up”. The centre provides a range of evidence-based interventions focused on reflection, reparation and rehabilitation in an environment of safety, respect and dignity.
Women benefit from closer community contact and access to local services, to create and sustain independence in preparation for successful reintegration into the community.
Channel 4 were given the opportunity to see the facilities, which were designed to be gender-specific and trauma-informed, and speak to residents about their experiences of living there.