Prisons

Social distancing guidelines were not always followed at a prison in which six inmates have tested positive for coronavirus. HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland found that staff at HMP Kilmarnock occasionally failed to wear personal protective equipment when they were unable to observe the two-m

Karyn McCluskey explains why the status quo on prison numbers cannot continue. The words you use matter. To give a random example, If I tell you to "stay alert" you might be a bit confused as to what you’re being asked to do. You might not necessarily assume I mean “stay at home as much

The Scottish government and Scottish Prison Service intend to introduce mobile phones in Scotland’s prisons to maintain contact between people in custody and their families during the COVID-19 outbreak. The move follows the suspension of visits to help protect all those within prisons, includi

A prisoner support expert has raised concerns about the function of a law aimed at offering more support to prisoners due for release on a Friday after it emerged only 15 people had benefited from it in three years. Under the Prisoners (Control of Release) (Scotland) Act 2015, prisoners due for rele

A replacement for Glasgow's Barlinnie Prison is expected by 2025, the Scottish Parliament’s justice committee has heard. Justice secretary Humza Yousaf and Colin McConnell, chief executive at the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), told the committee yesterday that a deal to buy the land is “

Judges in the Netherlands have refused to extradite a suspected drugs smuggler to the UK over concerns that conditions at HMP Liverpool are "inhuman and degrading", the Liverpool Echo reports. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said: "Since providing reassurances the court has postponed its decision."

Scotland's two privately-run prisons cost the taxpayer a total of £44 million in 2017/18, new figures reveal. The £30.1 million spend on HMP Addiewell represents a record high, an above-inflation increase from £24.6 million in 2010/11.

Four programmes aimed at helping people leaving prison reintegrate with their communities are set to receive £3.4 million from the Scottish government. The mentoring services provide specialist one-to-one support and guidance to prison leavers, offering help to overcome the challenges many fac

More than 1,400 prisoners are being housed in overcrowded ‘doubled-up’ single cells across Scotland. A total of 1,420 prisoners are currently being held in these cells, with one in every 10 single-cells in the prison estate housing more than one inmate.

Lawyers have complained of court delays this week after a new private company took over the contract for transferring prisoners to court, The Herald reports. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) has said it expects the "operational issues" to be resolved over the course of the week.

The average length of custodial sentences in Scotland is at its highest in the last ten years, increasing by 21 per cent since 2008/09, new figures reveal. The Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, 2017-18 bulletin shows the use of custodial sentences under three months has fallen over the last decade,

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has warned that “people are being packed into prisons like sardines” after a parliamentary question revealed that the occupancy rate of nine prisons was 100 per cent or higher last month. Barlinnie was operating at 139 per