Prisons

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have today called for recognition of the "emergency" in Scotland’s prisons as new figures revealed the total number of assaults in prisons increased by 41 per cent last year. Data acquired by the party through a freedom of Information request also showed that the

More prisoners in England and Wales will have the opportunity to access employment and training following an expansion of the release on temporary license (ROTL) scheme. Offenders in open and women's prisons will now be eligible for paid work as soon as they have passed a "tough" risk assessment.

A video link system could be a huge boon to Aberdeen Sheriff Court, saving it money and time, Scotland's chief inspector of prisons has said. Wendy Sinclair-Gieben thinks such a system would improve safety at the court and reduce the costs and time associated with holding trials.

Judges in the Netherlands have refused to extradite a suspected drugs smuggler to the UK over concerns that conditions at HMP Liverpool are "inhuman and degrading", the Liverpool Echo reports. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said: "Since providing reassurances the court has postponed its decision."

The presumption against prison sentences of less than three months has had a “limited” impact and the rule is undermined by the introduction of more offences with short prison terms, The Herald reports. The rule was introduced by the Scottish government in 2011 in an attempt to reduce th

Scotland's two privately-run prisons cost the taxpayer a total of £44 million in 2017/18, new figures reveal. The £30.1 million spend on HMP Addiewell represents a record high, an above-inflation increase from £24.6 million in 2010/11.

Four programmes aimed at helping people leaving prison reintegrate with their communities are set to receive £3.4 million from the Scottish government. The mentoring services provide specialist one-to-one support and guidance to prison leavers, offering help to overcome the challenges many fac

Scotland's jail population is set to reach a record high of 8,500 this summer, The Times reports. There has been an eight per cent increase in the prison population to 8,200 in the past year, with overcrowding a widespread problem.

The Scottish prison population fell by 4.1 per cent between 2016 and 2018 while the overall imprisonment rate in Europe fell by nearly seven per cent, new figures reveal. The Council of Europe's Annual Penal Statistics for 2018 (SPACE), published yesterday, reveals that a downwards trend in European

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have called for action to improve mental health in prisons, following the publication of the Deaths in Custody report by Aamer Anwar and the family of Katie Allan, a young woman who tragically committed suicide in prison. The report highlights, among other things, that

More than 1,400 prisoners are being housed in overcrowded ‘doubled-up’ single cells across Scotland. A total of 1,420 prisoners are currently being held in these cells, with one in every 10 single-cells in the prison estate housing more than one inmate.

Lawyers have complained of court delays this week after a new private company took over the contract for transferring prisoners to court, The Herald reports. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has said it expects the "operational issues" to be resolved over the course of the week.

The average length of custodial sentences in Scotland is at its highest in the last ten years, increasing by 21 per cent since 2008/09, new figures reveal. The Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2017-18 bulletin shows the use of custodial sentences under three months has fallen over the last decade,

Wales has the highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe, according to research by Cardiff University’s Wales Governance Centre. Sentencing and Immediate Custody in Wales: A Factfile provides a statistical comparison of sentencing and immediate custody figures in Wales and England.

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has warned that “people are being packed into prisons like sardines” after a parliamentary question revealed that the occupancy rate of nine prisons was 100 per cent or higher last month. Barlinnie was operating at 139 per