‘Unfathomable’ that Scotland’s remand rates are so high, MSPs told

It is “unfathomable” that Scotland’s remand prisoner rates are so high compared to England and Wales, MSPs have been told.

Emma Jardine of Howard League Scotland said the rates of remand prisoners in Scotland had risen sharply during the pandemic.

Speaking to Holyrood’s Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday, she said 27% of those in Scottish prisons were on remand.

The equivalent figure for England and Wales at the end of 2021 was 16%.

Ms Jardine said alternatives to custody need to be better funded.

She said: “It’s already been acknowledged that we need to do something about this quickly, and it needs to be something of significance.

“It’s unfathomable that the remand rates are so high compared to England and Wales.”

She continued: “We need to mark cases more quickly, we shouldn’t be remanding anyone who is unlikely to receive a custodial sentence.

“We need to make better use of non-custodial bail options, they need to be adequately source-funded.

“We know the answers to these things and I think the committee knows the answers to these things.

“It’s a case of bold actions rather than bold visions, I think.”

Teresa Medhurst, interim chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service, also spoke to the committee.

She said there had been a “significant shift” in the size of the remand population compared to before the pandemic.

Ms Medhurst said: “At the same time as the demand population has risen, the short-term population has reduced.”

She continued: “Although people are spending longer periods of time on remand, I had anticipated we might experience some disruption or unrest as a consequence, that hasn’t actually proven to be the case.

“And to be honest, I’m not sure why. But there hasn’t been any kind of pushback from those who are affected.”