Shotts

Shotts is a small rural town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is located almost halfway between Glasgow (21 miles) and Edinburgh (29 miles). At the 2001 census, the population was 8,235. A local story has Shotts being named after the legendary giant Bertram de Shotts, though toponymists give the Anglo-Saxon derived 'sceots' (steep slopes) as the real source of the name. Shotts is the home of the 2015 world champion pipe band, the House of Edgar Shotts and Dykehead Pipe Band.

History

Shotts was known for its mining and ironworks. In the years leading up to World War II there were 22 coal mines in the area, but the last of these (Northfield Colliery) closed in the 1960s.

Geography

Sport

Shotts has a number of sports facilitated in the local community. Shotts Golf Club, an 18 hole course founded in 1895, is to the North-East of the town. Each year, Shotts hosts its own Highland Games, the next being on 6 June 2015 in Hannah Park.

Football Teams

HM Prison Shotts

HMP Shotts is a prison near Shotts, Scotland. It is a prison holding male prisoners with maximum security classification. Shotts exclusively holds prisoners serving a term of 4 years or longer, with some prisoners being transferred from other prisons due to a need for a more secure environment. The prison was opened in 1978 with a design capacity of 528 inmates; When inspected by HM Inspectorate of Prisons in February 2007, Shotts held a total of 512 prisoners.

National facilities

Shotts is the location for two national facilities, which provide specialist environments for a range of offenders around Scotland, including those outside the standard "catchment area" for the prison.

National Induction Centre

The National Integration Centre (NIC) is a national facility providing for prisoners at the start of sentences of at least 8 to 10 years. The function of the centre is to provide an environment which can prepare the inmates for eventual moves to mainstream prisons. The NIC excludes prisoners serving sentences for sex offences. The centre was created to provide for prisoners in the first 3 to 6 months of their sentence, but some stay for up to 2 years with the average stay being approximately 1 year. In February 2007 the centre held 116 inmates.