Average prison population highest on record, figures show

Scotland’s average prison population is at its highest since records began more than 50 years ago, new figures show.

Statistics released by the Scottish Government on Tuesday showed the average daily population in 2024-25 was 8,213, up from 7,856 the previous year and above the previous record of 8,198 in 2019-20.

The figure is the largest since records began in 1970, when the prison population stood at 5,003.

The number of inmates in Scotland’s already stretched prisons continued to grow this year, reaching a new daily record of 8,441 earlier this month.

To combat the overcrowding, the Scottish Government has initiated three early release schemes, with one currently under way.

On November 11 – the same day the record population was hit – 139 prisoners were released in the first of four tranches to take place into the early part of next year.

The increase was driven by a 5.8% rise in the sentenced population, according to the figures, with a 14% (1,614) jump in sexual crimes and 2% (2,848) in violent crimes.

The system’s remand population fell slightly to 22% while the average age of inmates increased to 38.2 years.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said there was “no single reason” for the increased population and “no single solution” to solve it.

She said: “As is the case across the UK and elsewhere, Scotland’s prison population is complex and changing, and we have had to implement a range of actions to address this in a safe and sustainable way.

“We recognise the serious challenges facing the prison system, which is why we are continuing to work with the Scottish Prison Service and the wider justice sector to manage the prison population.

“We need the prison system to focus on those who pose the greatest risk to the public and provide a range of support to help reduce reoffending and support integration back into the community.

“Whilst we will always need prison, the evidence shows that community sentencing can be more effective in combatting reoffending than short sentences.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service said the early release scheme is bringing “welcome relief”, but a long-term plan is required.

He added: “We have been managing an extremely high and complex population for almost two years and this has had an increasingly destabilising effect on our establishments, with staff unable to do the critical work of building relationships and supporting rehabilitation, and prisoners frustrated by the impact on their daily lives and the opportunities available to them.

“Emergency early release is bringing welcome relief, but we need to see a long-term reduction in our population so we can fully support people in our care, reduce their risk of reoffending, and help build the safer communities we all want to see.”

Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said the country’s prisons are “at breaking point” and the Government is “asleep at the wheel”.

She added: “Our crumbling Victorian prisons are dangerously overcrowded, but all we have had from the SNP is short-term sticking plaster solutions.

“Criminals are being set free early because the system cannot cope, while prison staff and remaining inmates are being put at risk.

“We need a real plan to deal with this crisis – including delivering long-awaited new prisons, tackling the court backlogs, and making our communities safer in the first place.”

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr added that the figures show the justice system is being “pushed beyond its limits by SNP mismanagement”.

He added: “Their failure to deliver new prisons in Glasgow and the Highlands on time and on budget has created a capacity crisis.

“The resulting overcrowding has led to the panicked early release of hundreds of dangerous criminals, which puts public safety at risk and emboldens offenders.”

Scottish Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur said the crisis in Scotland’s prisons shows “every sign of getting worse”.

He added: “When prisons are overflowing, it is harder for staff to maintain order and harder to steer prisoners away from future reoffending.”