Prison

Prisoner transfer firm GEOAmey was responsible for inmates arriving to court late more than 14,000 times in the six months to last September, new figures show. As a result, there were 1,516 delays to court proceedings due to late arrivals or failures to bring prisoners to courtrooms. In addition, th

The Scottish Prison Service has been urged to stop routine body-searching of female inmates following an inspection of a new £85 million “therapeutic” jail. Chief inspector of prisons for Scotland, Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, made the recommendation after an inspection of the female pri

Deaths in custody, segregation and mental health are among the areas of concern in prisons and forensic mental health settings in Scotland, according to a new report. The Scottish Human Rights Commission and UK National Preventive Mechanism joint report concludes that little progress has been made a

The family of a prisoner who died in prison has raised a court action against the Scottish Prison Service, Police Scotland and the Crown Office. Allan Marshall died in March 2015 at the age of 30, following restraint by a total of 17 prison officers in HMP Edinburgh (Saughton). Mr Marshall expe

The Scottish Parliament has approved the early release of some short-term prisoners to address the impact of a recent rapid rise in the prison population. Under current modelling, based on the criteria set out in the regulations approved by Parliament, around 514 eligible prisoners will be released

Holyrood's Public Audit Committee has called for urgent action and long-term strategy to address concerns with Scotland’s prisons services in a new report. The committee’s report into the Scottish Prison Service highlights a number of issues and calls for both urgent and long-term action

Scotland's prison population has reached its highest since 2020. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) confirmed the new figure was 8,100 as of yesterday.

Nearly half the money that GEOAmey paid to the Scottish government in fines over its failure to transport prisoners was handed straight back as ‘support’ to the company in a renegotiated contract. GEOAmey was hit with £4 million worth of fines after repeated failures in the deliver

A decision to give prison officers immunity from prosecution over one of Scotland's most high-profile custody deaths was "incorrect", new documents seen by the BBC show. Allan Marshall, 30, died in March 2015 at HMP Edinburgh after being restrained.

Concerns have been raised that prisoners' right to an hour of exercise in the fresh air every day is “clearly being breached” at Scotland’s holding facility for children and young offenders. HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) stated in its latest report on HMP YOI

Scotland’s prison system is facing considerable risks, including the poor performance of the company that transports prisoners to and from custody, according to a new report. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) contracted GEOAmey in 2018 to transfer prisoners between prisons, courts, police cust

The longest periods prisoners in Scotland have spent on remand continue to increase, new figures show. While median time on remand before departure remained at 21 days in 2022-23, the longest periods spent on remand have risen significantly. In 2017-18, 90 per cent of remand departures had occurred

Prison governors have written to MSPs over "significant concerns" about the rising number of inmates in Scotland. Natalie Beal, chair of the Prison Governors’ Association Scotland (PGAS), said staff were under "significant strain" and called for "urgent mitigation".

The Scottish Prison Service is installing landline phones in cells for the first time to support family contact, mental health and wellbeing, and reduce the risk of reoffending. They will replace prison-issued mobile phones, which were introduced as a temporary measure during the pandemic, when in-p

The Scottish Prison Service has opened the doors for the first time to the new £85.7 million HMP & YOI Stirling, a replacement facility for HMP Cornton Vale.