Mentally ill prisoners in Scotland should be treated not jailed argues report

Prisoners in Scotland with mental health problems should not be jailed but should be given treatment according to a new report by a think tank.

The Scotland Institute’s Mental Health And Scotland’s Prison Population argues that up to 80 per cent of the 7,500 prisoners in Scotland have mental health problems – among them bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia and personality disorders.

An overhaul of medical services for prisoners means that the NHS now deals with inmates’ health but the report states this has not led to any improvement since 2011.

Dr Azeem Ibrahim, the think tank’s executive chairman, said: “Putting people with mental illnesses in prison is, in part, further victimising people who are vulnerable and need help on the one hand, and on the other, it is clearly not the way to help rehabilitate these people and prevent reoffending.

“We argue that where criminal behaviour has been at least in part prompted by mental health issues, the best approach would be to tackle that first, rather than go directly to imprisoning these individuals.”

He added: “We want to be clear that where offenders have a history of mental illness which can be addressed before sending them to prison, that should always take priority – especially when it comes to sentencing women, where the evidence shows that imprisonment does not only affect the individual concerned, but also creates problems for others around them.”

Until 2011, Scotland had the highest rate of imprisonment in the European Union (EU), when the prison population was over 8,000.

It has declined since then and the Scottish government has taken steps to phase out short sentences as they are believed to have no impact on re-offending.

Using certain measures, the report found that 80 per cent of Scotland’s inmates suffer from a mental disorder.

In comparison, 1-1.5 per cent of the general population suffer from serious mental health problems.

It adds that new proposals on sentencing guidelines for Scottish courts are an opportunity to “rethink” the approach currently undertaken.

However, it said: “Placing people with mental health problems in jail simply worsens the situation.

“Thus the new sentencing guidelines need to be clear that there are groups of individuals who should never be sent to prison.”

A Scottish government spokesman said: “The evidence is clear that short-term prison sentences are ineffective at reducing re-offending.

“We are determined to continue reducing the use of custody where short sentences are the option, to see imprisonment used as the option of last resort.

“We believe a more effective approach is to have a greater focus on the use of community alternatives to custody.

“That is why we introduced Community Payback Orders. CPOs are community sentences which ensure offenders pay back to the community, whilst also addressing the underlying causes of their offending behaviour, which can include providing support for mental health issues.”