Prisoner numbers are now starting to exceed capacity, report warns

The chief inspector of prisons has said she is “very concerned” that the number of inmates in Scotland is starting to exceed capacity, placing extra pressure on the system.

The prison population rose by 709 in the year to the end of March, from 7,413 on April 1 2018 to 8,122 on March 31 2019.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, said this 9% increase is equivalent to one additional large prison.

In her report for 2018/19, she said planned investment in key infrastructure must not be delayed and she called for urgent action to replace Barlinnie, Greenock and Inverness prisons, saying Victorian prisons are “costly and no longer fit for purpose”.

She said: “The additional number of prisoners and an increasingly complex population places a heavy burden on an already overstretched prison service in Scotland.

“I am very concerned that the number of prisoners is starting to exceed design capacity, resulting in not only additional pressures on staff, the prison regime and activities, but also on the essential programme and throughcare activities designed to reduce recidivism.”

Scotland’s incarceration rate is one of the highest in Europe, while the number of prisoners on remand awaiting trial had risen from 1,142 last year (15.4% of the prison population) to 1,350 (16.6% of the prison population) by March 31.

Problems relating to overcrowding include staff having less time to deal with individuals, two people sharing cells that have been designed for single occupancy, prisoners being located further away from home, and an “inevitable increase” in the waiting list for offender behaviour programmes.

The report found the “sharp rise” in prisoners is due to factors including longer sentences for the most serious of crimes, a rise in the number of people being convicted of sexual offences, and more serious and organised crime being successfully prosecuted.