The Croft Visitors Centre

Providing information and support for visitors to HMP Barlinnie

The Croft Visitors Centre has been supporting people visiting HMP Barlinnie since 2012.  Staff welcome visitors and support them to have a better visit, using an assertive outreach approach. This includes giving people information about visit procedures, how to claim travel expenses and additional support that is available.

Staff at The Croft speak with a range of people at HMP Barlinnie, including partners and parents of prisoners as well as friends, siblings and other relatives.  There are staff and volunteers based in the office opposite the booking desk and in the waiting area of the prison, to support people before and after most visits.

The Croft have produced a short film to highlight what to do and what to expect when visiting someone in HMP Barlinnie.

HMP Barlinnie is located in North East Glasgow and is the largest prison in the country, receiving prisoners from the courts in the west of Scotland. The prison houses male prisoners, remand and convicted of all sentence lengths. As of April 2024, HMP Barlinnie housed around 10% of all men from Ayrshire who are in prison, which is the second highest proportion after HMP Kilmarnock.