Warning as prisoners ‘packed in like fish’
The majority of Scotland’s prisons were at or beyond their maximum capacity last month.
New figures show Glasgow’s Barlinnie jail was operating at 139% capacity in December and Inverness at 137%.
Other sites at or exceeding their prisoner limit were Addiewell, Dumfries, Edinburgh, Glenochil, Kilmarnock, Perth and Shotts.
The figures were revealed following a parliamentary question from the Scottish Liberal Democrats, whose justice spokesman Liam Mcarthur warned inmates are being “packed into prisons like sardines”.
At the start of 2018, five prisons were at or beyond their capacity, rising to nine out of 15 by the end of the year.
Those operating within their capacity last month were Cornton Vale, Grampian, Greenock, Low Moss, Polmont and Castle Huntly.
Mr Mcarthur said the new figures show “prisons are bursting at the seams with the majority now full or overcrowded”.
He added: “People are being packed in like sardines.”
The Lib Dems said evidence shows short-term sentences are less effective at rehabilitating people than “robust” community-based sentences, which would reduce the pressure on jails.