Prison

The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has concluded that real-terms increases in the revenue and capital budgets for the Scottish Prison Service are needed for 2020/21. The committee is also calling for changes to the post-conviction landscape in Scotland.

The number of offenders passing through the criminal justice system has fallen to its lowest level in 50 years, according to official figures. Between July 2018 and June 2019 there were 1.58 million people processed by the system, compared with 1.86m in 1970, data from the Ministry of Justice show.

An independent review of the handling of deaths in prisons is being established by the Scottish government. The purpose of the review is to identify and make recommendations for areas for improvement to ensure appropriate and transparent arrangements are in place in the immediate aftermath of deaths

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has welcomed news that two third sector partnerships will extend the range of support they deliver for people leaving prison. The ‘New Routes’ and ‘Shine’ partnerships, led by Wise Group and Sacro respectively, will make support available for mo

The Scottish Prison Service faces profound challenges in continuing to run Scotland's overcrowded prisons safely and effectively. A report by the Auditor General for the Scottish Parliament says the service's revenue budget reduced by 12.5 per cent in real terms between 2014/15 and 2018/19, from &po

A prison has installed a stairlift for elderly inmates amid an increase in requests for walking frames, thermal underwear and wedge pillows, The Times reports. Cells and showers have also been adapted to accommodate inmates with mobility problems.

The number of self-harm incidents and attempted suicides recorded in prisons during the first seven months of 2019 has already far exceeded the figures for the whole of 2018. Figures acquired through freedom of information requests by the Evening Express and Scottish Liberal Democrats also show

The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee is seeking information on the Scottish government’s spending in relation to prisons and alternatives to custody, as part of its wider review of budgets in the justice portfolio. It is gathering this information before it considers the governmen

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have warned that Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf “cannot just throw up his hands and pass the buck” after the Scottish Prison Service announced that all of its throughcare support officers (TSOs) were being reassigned into general prison officer roles to dea

As many as three quarters of detainees in Scottish prisons went without attending a single a single education or skills class in the past month, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have said. A Scottish Liberal Democrat freedom of information request answered by the Scottish Prison Service reveals t

Scotland has the highest prison population rate per head in Western Europe, with 150 people held in prison for every 100,000 of the population, according to a new report. Meanwhile, in England and Wales there were more than 140,000 admissions into prison in 2017—the highest number in western E

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have today called for recognition of the "emergency" in Scotland’s prisons as new figures revealed the total number of assaults in prisons increased by 41 per cent last year. Data acquired by the party through a freedom of Information request also showed that the

More prisoners in England and Wales will have the opportunity to access employment and training following an expansion of the release on temporary license (ROTL) scheme. Offenders in open and women's prisons will now be eligible for paid work as soon as they have passed a "tough" risk assessment.

A video link system could be a huge boon to Aberdeen Sheriff Court, saving it money and time, Scotland's chief inspector of prisons has said. Wendy Sinclair-Gieben thinks such a system would improve safety at the court and reduce the costs and time associated with holding trials.

The presumption against prison sentences of less than three months has had a “limited” impact and the rule is undermined by the introduction of more offences with short prison terms, The Herald reports. The rule was introduced by the Scottish government in 2011 in an attempt to reduce th