Prisoners could be released early as jails approach ‘tipping point’

There are 8,353 people currently imprisoned, the second-highest figure ever recorded.

Teresa Medhurst, SPS chief executive, said in January that the “tipping point” would be when the population reached around 8,500.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said the number had “increased rapidly in the past few weeks, in a way which was not anticipated”.

Six of the SPS’s 15 prisons currently have “red risk” status.

Ms Medhurst told Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee earlier this month that “red risk” means prisons are “still managing” but “conditions would deteriorate very quickly” if additional demands were placed on them.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “Our population, which was already very high and extremely complex, has increased rapidly in the past few weeks, in a way which was not anticipated.

“This is putting significant pressure on our staff, our establishments, and those in our care.

“The complexity is driven by the high numbers of individuals who may require to be accommodated separately, for example, because they are on remand, have links to serious and organised crime, or due to their offending history, all of which exacerbates the challenges faced.”

A Scottish government spokesperson said: “The prison population is too high and rising. The needs of the population are also increasingly complex, which continues to put significant pressure on the entire prison system, and the Justice Secretary has made it clear that doing nothing is not an option.”