More than a quarter of Scottish prisoners are on remand, analysis finds

More than a quarter of the prison population in Scotland consists of people being held on remand, meaning the rate has almost doubled since April 2020.

Analysis by the justice affairs magazine 1919 found that at the beginning of August, 2,164 inmates were on remand.

This includes 303 who were convicted but still awaiting sentence, meaning the total remand population was 29%.

In February this year, a committee of MSPs was told the remand population stood at 27% while the equivalent figure in England and Wales was 16%.

At the time, Howard League Scotland said the rates in Scotland were “unfathomable” and called for swift action to bring them down.

Remand rates have increased sharply since the start of the pandemic.

Statistics show the remand population was 1,114 in April 2020 but grew to more than 2,000 by September 2020.

According to the latest statistics, 33% of those currently on remand have been waiting for longer than 140 days.

Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur said: “Far too many of those locked up are people who haven’t been convicted.

“The SNP needs to tackle lengthy court delays which are preventing people from having their cases heard and preventing victims from seeing justice done.

“We need proper investment in bail supervision orders and electronic tagging so that remand is only used where it is necessary to safeguard communities and public safety.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said: “While it is not for us to determine who should be remanded to custody, the impact on our establishments is significant.

“We are managing an increasingly complex prison population. Certain demographics are unable to be located in certain establishments, or even in the same area within an establishment.

“The challenge we face on remand is also exacerbated by the court backlog, where it is routinely in excess of 140 days.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “We remain committed to taking action to address use of remand.

“The Bail and Release from Custody Bill is currently before Parliament, and seeks to refocus how custody can be used within the criminal justice system to ensure public safety is protected.

“The Scottish Government has invested an additional £3.2 million this year towards strengthening alternatives to remand, including further expansion of bail supervision.

“We have also legislated to introduce electronic monitoring of bail, a significant change, which started in May.

“This funding builds on the ongoing funding of £1.5 million for bail support for women and £550,000 towards bail supervision.

“This funding is already having a positive impact in developing bail supervision services and supporting the implementation of electronically monitored bail.”