Life in women's jail: 'In prison you just get locked away'
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson announced that the Scottish government has dropped plans to build a new £75m women-only prison in Inverclyde.
The jail had been proposed as a replacement for Scotland's only women's prison Cornton Vale, near Stirling, which is due to close in 2018.
Mr Matheson has said he is in favour of smaller local centres to help female offenders.
BBC Scotland's Reevel Alderson visited 218 Bath Street service for women offenders where former inmates compared the two approaches.
One woman told him: "In prison you just get locked away. You don't get worked with, you don't get the help or support you need. This place has helped me more than anything."
26 Jan 2015