Grampian was opened in March 2014 and is the first purpose-built community facing prison within Scotland, capable of housing over 500 individuals, both male and female adults from the North of Scotland Community Justice Authority.
Brian McKirdy
Martin Milne
Main switch board : 01779 485 600
Concern phoneline : 01779 485 600 (press 9)
Family Contact Officer : 01779 485680 or 01779 485755
Family Centre and Help Hub : 01779 485829
All visits are booked by the visitors, through the dedicated visits booking line, with the exception of Exceptional visits. Visits can be booked a minimum of 48 hours in advance and up to 28 days prior.
The visits booking line number is 01779 485640. If you are unable to keep an appointment, please phone the visits booking line and we can then advise the individual to avoid any undue concern. The visit line is staffed Monday to Friday 09:00-11:30 and 13:00-15:30.
Agents visits can be arranged on 01779 485679. The line is open between 08:30 - 11:30 and 13:30 - 16:30, Monday to Friday. You are encouraged to book in advance. Agents and Advocates are required to carry and show their Law Society of Scotland/ Advocate Faculty ID Cards.
At Grampian we seek to maximise the opportunities for offenders to engage with friends and families at visits and offer a range of additional visits including:
All visitors over the age of 16 years will be required to provide photographic identification and documentary evidence supporting proof of name and address on each visit.
The following examples are accepted as suitable for photographic ID purposes. All ID must be in date:
The following examples shall be accepted as suitable for proof of address: All proof of address documents will only be valid for 3 months from the issue date.:
Entry to the prison will not be permitted without acceptable identification.
Vending machines can be accessed during the visit within the visits room.
You are required to arrive at the establishment a minimum of 30 minutes before the commencement of your visit, this will allow you to enjoy the full visit time. If you arrive after this time, you may be refused entry or a reduced visit period. Currently there is no facility to move to a later session. If you are unable to attend on time, please call 01779 485600 and ask for the FCO who will advise on options.
As you enter the prison you will be greeted by staff at the vestibule. You will be asked for your name and who you are visiting. Staff will direct you to place the items that are not permitted within the prison, into the lockers provided. From there you will be asked to walk through a metal detector, whilst any items that you are carrying are passed through a scanning device. Please note, No Mobile Phones, Wireless Devices, Smart Watches or Fitness Bands are allowed.
If the metal detector indicates positively, staff will guide you through the necessary process, which may entail a search with a hand held metal detector and a rub down search. You will then be escorted to the Search Area where a Rub Down Search, similar to that in an Airport will take place.
You will then be asked to take a seat in the visit room, where vending machine facilities are available. You may take in up to £10 in loose coins and a contactless Bank Card. Sharing of food and drinks is prohibited.
For those visiting with babies and toddlers, only bottles and bibs are permitted to be taken into the visit room.
The SPS Dog Unit operate within the establishment. The dogs are highly trained and well behaved, but if their presence causes you alarm, please discuss this with the Family Contact Officer Staff will be as unobtrusive as possible within the visit area; they will however remain vigilant at all times and be supported by CCTV within the area.
We have a team of family contact officers; one of them will be available to you at all visit sessions.
The centre is located just outside HMP & YOI Grampian. The Family Centre and Help Hub supports families affected by imprisonment by:
A helpful video guide to the FCHH facility is available here: The Family Centre and Help Hub - here for you
Opening times:
Contact
Telephone: 01779 485829
Facebook: FCHH Grampian
X (fromerly Twitter): @grampian_vc
The establishment's Family Contact Officers can be reached by phone on:
Click here for information on the Scottish Legal Aid Board web site for solicitors looking to register for and use video link technology to conduct meetings with their clients in custody.
For virtual visits register your account on the email a prisoner website. 48 hours' notice is required for virtual visits.
You can only post in property approved by the pro forma once per month. Remember to put prisoner’s name and number on the parcel as well as prison’s address. Items not on the pro forma will not be issued to the prisoner, and will be sent back to the posting address at prisoner’s expense. Due to the current climate, you are unable to hand in the property in person.
The safest and most cost efficient way of transferring the money to a prisoner is over online banking. You will need a reference number to do this, which you can generate here.
Alternatively, if you’re unable to use online banking, you can at your own risk and expense send money over by post. We’d recommend using recorded/special delivery method, and including your details at the back of the letter.
Family and Friends
If sending a letter to a prisoner, put their name, prison number and location, followed by the prison postal address.
Solicitors
If you are writing to your client, the Scottish Prison Service considers that it is necessary that you adopt the “double envelope” process as recommended by the Law Society. It is the experience of the Scottish Prison Service that adopting this process ensures that your client receives his or her correspondence unopened and assists in mitigating the abuse of the right to receive such correspondence in this way. If you require further information you can contact us as follows:
Stagecoach run regular services from the City of Aberdeen via the numbers 61 and 63 to and from HMP & YOI Grampian.
Only the number 63 bus stops immediately outside the prison.
The number 61 bus goes straight to Peterhead, with the closest stop a 15 minute walk to the prison thereafter.
There is no rail service to the town of Peterhead. The nearest station is Aberdeen which is directly linked to the bus station.
On 4 June 2008, it was announced that HMP Aberdeen and HMP Peterhead were to close and one new prison would be built on part of the old Peterhead site, to be known as HMP & YOI Grampian.
Known locally known as Craiginches, was sited in the Torry area of Aberdeen, on the banks of the River Dee and was designed to hold 155 offenders.
Was designed to hold 208 prisoners and to be Scotland’s only convict prison. In 1911 occupancy averaged at around 350, until peaking at 455. Additional buildings were completed in 1909, 1960 and 1962, bringing the capacity of to 362. Peterhead supplied the labour force to work in Stirlinghill Quarry and the Admiralty Yard. The convicts supported the work of a civilian labour force employed by the Admiralgy to construct the Harbour of Refuge breakwater. At the time of closure in 2013 it had capacity for 142 prisoners.
Clearance of the site began in February 2012, to prepare land for the building of the new HMP & YOI Grampian.