Prisons

A disproportionate number of care-experienced children and young people have siblings in prison or secure care, according to a new report which urges action to ensure their right to a sibling relationship is protected. The Staying Connected: Care-experienced children and young people with a sibling

Jails are under severe pressure, with the prison population increasing by almost 10 per cent this year. Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the rise was a “significant challenge” and that a further increase would “seriously impact” on staff and prisoners.

Scotland has a "very high" incarceration rate, new figures from the Council of Europe show. The end of lockdown measures to tackle the pandemic produced a rebound effect in the incarceration rates in many European countries between January 2021 and January 2022: the median incarceration rate rose by

Plans to hold young offenders under the age of 18 in secure care rather than young offender institutes (YOIs) will require additional resources, a Holyrood committee has warned. There are significantly higher costs associated with holding young people in secure care rather than YOIs, the criminal ju

Around a quarter of Scotland's prison population last year was held on remand, the largest proportion on remand on record, new figures show. The Scottish government yesterday published its prison population statistics for 2021–22, showing that the average daily remand population increased by a

In its new report published today on its visit to Bulgaria in October 2021, the Council of Europe’s committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) hails rare occurrences of ill-treatment by staff, reduction of prison population and certain improvements in living conditions. However, it regrets

There are just 16 transgender prisoners across the entire Scottish prison estate and most are not held in prisons corresponding to their identity, new figures show. According to a report published by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) last week, there were 11 trans women and five trans men in Scottis

Two prisoners who had their petition for review of a prison authority decision to prohibit them from making inter-prison phone calls to each other refused have been denied permission to make a further appeal against the decision to the UK Supreme Court.  Charles O’Neill and William Lauchl

A body independent of the Scottish government and prison service should investigate every prison death, a new report published today has recommended. The report of the Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison Custody follows two years of research, analysis and engagement with families

Scottish Labour has backed calls for a full public inquiry into the 2015 death of a 30-year-old prisoner after being violently restrained by prison guards. Allan Marshall was a remand prisoner in HMP Edinburgh and was days way from release when he died from serious injuries sustained from prison gua

There are now more than 100 confirmed Covid cases at HMP Perth. As of yesterday, there were 645 individuals self-isolating across four Scottish Prison Service (SPS) establishments. A significant number of individuals are self-isolating due to potential contact with a confirmed case.

Nearly 100 prisoners in HMP Perth have tested positive for Covid-19 in a significant outbreak, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) announced over the weekend. Prison bosses said there were 97 confirmed cases on Friday, of which a "significant number" are asymptomatic positives.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland has expressed concern over the treatment and care of vulnerable women with mental ill health in Cornton Vale prison. In a new report it highlights the lack of available beds in specific units in Scotland’s mental health facilities and raises critical

A contingency measure to help prisoners affected by drug use during the pandemic is to be rolled out into the wider community after a pilot project was shown to be a success. Last year the Scottish government allocated £1.9 million to support people in prison on prescribed opiate substitution

A new right to welfare, housing and healthcare appointments for prisoners has been proposed by the Scottish Liberal Democrats in its manifesto published today. Research by the party revealed that Scotland's prisons are completely overwhelmed, with the population reaching record levels in recent year