In very few cases have prisoners at large committed other offences, and a spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service also emphasised that, in few cases, were drugs at the seat of a bid for freedom.

Some weeks ago one lag who was apprehended after absconding argued that Huntly was awash with drugs and that sending prisoners there was like putting children in charge of a sweetie shop.

According to the SPS, it was open to the prisoner to complain to the governor, but in most cases the reasons for absconding involve family problems or an inability to cope with the system, and only in a minority of cases were drugs involved.

When a prisoner is captured, he will go before a Sheriff and it is rare for a sentence of less than two months in a closed prison to be imposed, where the offender will again then start the risk reassessment process.

At Christmas, most of the open prison population melts away as offenders are allowed away for a week. With just over 400 in Huntly and Noranside, three quarters can look forward to turkey and trimmings at home.

Last year, a similar number were allowed home leave and every one came back, with no incidents reported. The spokesman said, if there were few prisoners remaining at Noranside over the festive period, the remainder might be transferred temporarily to Huntly, with the Forfar unit effectively closing down for a week or more.

But it is throughout the remainder of the year that the SPS statistics illustrate its claim that the system is working, if albeit slightly imperfectly.

Access to the community — meaning work placements, home visits, doctor’s and dentist’s appointments and other domestic arrangements the public takes for granted — happened 19,000 times from Huntly in the past year, with a further 11,000 to and from Noranside.

“As far as we are aware, nothing has come to our notice which requires action. Set against 40 abscondees, prisoners have had 30,000 opportunities to access the community. They have behaved themselves, making the system worthwhile.”