HM Prison Inverness, also known as Porterfield Prison, is located in the Crown area of

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histo ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, and serves the courts of the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 ...

. It covers all the courts in the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

as well as courts from Fort William,

Wick Wick most often refers to: * Capillary action ("wicking") ** Candle wick, the cord used in a candle or oil lamp ** Solder wick, a copper-braided wire used to desolder electronic contacts Wick or WICK may also refer to: Places and placename ...

and

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Chatham-Kent, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario ...

. A small local prison, it deals with inmates serving up to 4 years, with female prisoners serving up to 2 years. Its capacity is 103 prisoners. The establishment is Governed by Brian McKirdy.

Redevelopment plans

As of 2016, due to insufficient capacity at HMP Inverness, the

Scottish Prison Service The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an executive agency of the Scottish Government tasked with managing prisons and Young Offender Institutions. The Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, currently Teresa Medhurst, is responsible f ...

announced its intention to build a new prison near

Milton of Leys Milton of Leys (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile Muilinn an Leigheis'', meaning "Mill-Farm of Medicine" ) is an area of the city of Inverness in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies on high ground overlooking the Moray Firth, 3 miles (5 ...

. In June 2016 after significant opposition from local residents
HAPPL Campaign
the

suspended the consultation on the

site to assess an alternative option. In 2021, the Scottish Government confirmed its intention to proceed with a new HMP Highland to replace HMP Inverness, shortlisting four major construction companies for the contract.

References

Address: HMP Porterfield, Duffy Drive, Inverness, Highland, IV2 3HH Prisons in Scotland Buildings and structures in Inverness 1902 establishments in Scotland Government agencies established in 1902 Execution sites in Scotland {{prison-stub