Prisons

The family of a prisoner who died in prison has raised a court action against the Scottish Prison Service, Police Scotland and the Crown Office. Allan Marshall died in March 2015 at the age of 30, following restraint by a total of 17 prison officers in HMP Edinburgh (Saughton). Mr Marshall expe

Individuals could spend more time under community supervision as part of their prison sentence, a consultation has proposed. Views are being sought on changing the point of release under licence conditions for people serving a custodial sentence of four years or more, which would "provide a more man

The Scottish Parliament has approved the early release of some short-term prisoners to address the impact of a recent rapid rise in the prison population. Under current modelling, based on the criteria set out in the regulations approved by Parliament, around 514 eligible prisoners will be released

Holyrood's Public Audit Committee has called for urgent action and long-term strategy to address concerns with Scotland’s prisons services in a new report. The committee’s report into the Scottish Prison Service highlights a number of issues and calls for both urgent and long-term action

Scotland had a prisoner suicide far above the European average in 2022, the Council of Europe annual penal statistics show. In 2022 Scotland reported a suicide rate of 18.9 per 10,000 inmates; this compares to 9.3 suicides per 10,000 inmates in England & Wales and a European median rate of 5.3 &

The Scottish Parliament will be asked to approve the emergency release of some short-term prisoners to address the impacts of a rapid rise in the prison population. The legislation was announced to Parliament earlier this month by the Justice Secretary as an emergency response. If the regulations ar

Scotland's prison population has reached its highest since 2020. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) confirmed the new figure was 8,100 as of yesterday.

Nearly half the money that GEOAmey paid to the Scottish government in fines over its failure to transport prisoners was handed straight back as ‘support’ to the company in a renegotiated contract. GEOAmey was hit with £4 million worth of fines after repeated failures in the deliver

A decision to give prison officers immunity from prosecution over one of Scotland's most high-profile custody deaths was "incorrect", new documents seen by the BBC show. Allan Marshall, 30, died in March 2015 at HMP Edinburgh after being restrained.

Concerns have been raised that prisoners' right to an hour of exercise in the fresh air every day is “clearly being breached” at Scotland’s holding facility for children and young offenders. HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) stated in its latest report on HMP YOI

Scotland’s prison system is facing considerable risks, including the poor performance of the company that transports prisoners to and from custody, according to a new report. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) contracted GEOAmey in 2018 to transfer prisoners between prisons, courts, police cust

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

The longest periods prisoners in Scotland have spent on remand continue to increase, new figures show. While median time on remand before departure remained at 21 days in 2022-23, the longest periods spent on remand have risen significantly. In 2017-18, 90 per cent of remand departures had occurred

Prison governors have written to MSPs over "significant concerns" about the rising number of inmates in Scotland. Natalie Beal, chair of the Prison Governors’ Association Scotland (PGAS), said staff were under "significant strain" and called for "urgent mitigation".

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.