Severe overcrowding results in ‘very high’ prisoner numbers in Scotland

Severe overcrowding in prisons has resulted in Scotland having a “very high” number of people incarcerated compared to other European countries, new figures have shown.

The Council of Europe annual penal statistics for 2022 showed Scotland had a rate of 136 inmates in prison per 100,000 people, compared to a Europe-wide average of 104 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants.

In comparison, England and Wales had a rate of 132 inmates per 100,000 people.

A density of more than 105 inmates per 100,000 people is an indicator of “severe overcrowding”, the report suggested.

Between 2021 and 2022, the average incarceration rate in Scotland grew by 0.7%.

The figures also found Scotland has a “very high” prison density with 97 inmates per 100 places in a penal institution.

Scotland also had one of the highest rates of prisoners who were on remand at 30%, compared to the 25% European average.

In comparison, England and Wales was among the prison administration with the lowest (16%) percentages of people on remand.

Scotland also had one of the highest suicide rates for countries with over one million inhabitants, with 16 suicides per 10,000 inmates.

Prisoner numbers in Scotland remained stable in 2022, despite the number of people going to prison across Europe increasing by 2.3% as a result of the end of lockdown measures across the continent.

Professor Marcelo Aebi, head of the SPACE research team from the University of Lausanne, said: “Throughout the last 12 years, the average European incarceration rate has slowly but consistently fallen. That drop was intensified during 2020 as a consequence of the Covid-19 lockdown measures.

“Therefore, the increase in 2022 reflects a return to relative normality in social life and the functioning of the European criminal justice systems.

“Despite that increase, the European incarceration rate in 2022 is still lower than that observed at the beginning of 2020, before the pandemic. This suggests the continuation of the consistent decline observed since 2011.”

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

“We are managing a rising and increasingly complex prison population, with a range of needs and challenges, such as addiction, experience of trauma and mental health and wellbeing concerns.

“When our population increases, the challenge these complexities present becomes ever more acute.”