In June 2025 (up until the morning of Tuesday 1st July 2025):

• the population increased by 96 to 8,202
• 2,094 were on remand: 1,722 (21 per cent) untried & 372 (5 per cent) awaiting sentence. 6,108 (74 per cent) were serving a sentence.
• 58 per cent of arrivals were untried (546 of 934), 19 per cent awaiting sentence (177) and 23 per cent sentenced (211)
• Among the 2,094 people on remand as of the morning of Tuesday 1st July 2025, the median continuous time spent with this status to date was 75 days.

Earlier this year, new research found that the number of deaths in Scotland’s prisons has increased by 60 per cent in the past year. Scotland’s prison mortality rate is now among the highest in Europe.

A freedom of information request to the Scottish Prison Service recently revealed that the average cost per prisoner place in 2023/24 was £47,140 or £129.15 per day, up from £37,334 or £102.28 per day in 2016/17.

Justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP said: “These figures show Scottish prisons are still full to bursting. When prisons are overflowing, it is harder for staff to maintain order and harder to steer prisoners away from future reoffending.

“There are far too many prisoners being held in prison who have not yet been convicted of anything.

“Robust community-based measures are a key part of the solution to prison overcrowding. They can ease pressure on the system and ensure people get a credible alternative to prison time. The Scottish government must do more to improve enforcement of these orders.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see a modern prison estate that strikes the correct balance between punishing, rehabilitating and reducing reoffending. To achieve that, the government must get serious about clearing court backlogs, giving staff the resources they need and driving down the use of remand.”