Deaths in state custody and care rise to 261 in Scotland

Figures published by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) show that 261 people died last year, compared with 245 in 2024 – an average of five deaths a week.

The report, Nothing to See Here? Deaths in Custody and their Investigation in Scotland 2025, found that deaths following police contact more than doubled, from 14 to 34, while deaths among care-experienced children and young people rose from 16 to 22.

Of the total, 147 deaths occurred among people detained on mental health grounds, 51 in prison, three in police custody and four in asylum accommodation.

Research leader Professor Sarah Armstrong of the University of Glasgow described the figures as “appalling”, highlighting a lack of information about those who died and the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

She said: “According to the data we’ve been able to obtain, there’s been an overall increase in the number of people dying after police contact, as compared to 2024 figures, with a third of those being women, and a record number of people from ethnic minority groups.

“We were deeply concerned to see most deaths among care-experienced young people were in after-care services and eight were looked-after children at ages where the most common causes of death are from suicide or drugs.

“It’s not just how many people are dying that’s concerning, but it’s also the fact we don’t know who is dying or why. It is appalling to think that every week, five people in this country are dying while in the care of the state and for most of them, we know very little about who they are, the facts surrounding their deaths or whether lessons have been learned.”

She added: “In the last decade our prison death rates have effectively doubled, and the suicide rate in Scottish prisons is now more than twice that of England and Wales.”