Latest prison population projections state that “it is likely that the overall prison population will increase between 1st November 2024 and 30th April 2025”, warning that the population could be between 7,950 and 8,900 in April 2025.

A prison population of 8,900 would be a record high, and well above the 8,007 person operating capacity of Scottish prisons.

These projections do not account for the Scottish government’s new legislation, which would release short-term prisoners early – however, even with these early releases the prison population could still hit its highest point in decades.

If the prisoner release legislation releases 390 prisoners – the Scottish government’s upper estimate – the population could still be as high as 8,500 by 2025.

Scottish Labour community safety spokesperson Katy Clark said: “Years of SNP mismanagement has left Scotland’s prisons dangerously overcrowded and seen hundreds of prisoners set free early.

“For years the SNP has failed to modernise Scotland’s Victorian prison estate and long-promised new prisons have been plagued by delays, while the courts backlog is piling on added pressure.

“This is a disaster waiting to happen, but the SNP is still relying on short-term sticking plaster fixes.

“We urgently need a real plan to sustainably manage Scotland’s prison population and get our prison estate up to standard.”