Scotland's prison population rises to record high

The prison population in Scotland has hit a new high. The number of people in jail has been on the rise for many months, and the number of prisoners in jail reached 8,430 on Tuesday. That number has surpassed the previous record of 8,420 set in 2012. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said that it had hit a point where it raises very serious questions about keeping prisoners safe. Immediate intervention is now mandatory, according to the Scottish government, to ensure that those who work and live in prisons are kept safe.

According to the SPS, the prison population fluctuates daily but last week, it hit 8,400. Despite the early release of hundreds of prisoners to free up space, this rise in figures has occurred. Following prison bosses' announcement that they were refusing to accept any more arrivals, more than 300 people were released in February and March, half of whom were serving prison sentences for violent offences. In comparison to the record numbers within Scotland's jails, the SPS reported that more than 120 people on custodial sentences were being handled in the community by home detention curfews. Scotland's jails were supposed to hold 7,805 prisoners, which means they are now accommodating more than 600 prisoners, enough to fill another jail the size of HMP & YOI Grampian or HMP Shotts.

According to the prison service, one of the key reasons for the increase had been the increase in people serving long-term sentences of four years or more. The long-term population has increased to 4012, which is more than 600 higher than two years ago. In comparison, the short-term population is just 130 lower than two years ago. The prisoners (Early Release): The Prisoners Act 2025 was passed earlier this year. The law changed the release of all eligible short-term prisoners from 50% to 40% of their sentences. That provided some relief for prisoners in the face of overcrowding, but figures have since increased.

Teresa Medhurst, SPS chief executive, said further action was required and that staff had been

managing an extremely diverse and high number of people for almost two years. She praised their abilities and professionalism in the situation.

However, we have now hit a new record high, which is an unfortunate occurrence that no one of us wants to see,she said.The degree of overcrowding in our organizations was already restricting our employees' ability to develop relationships, promote rehabilitation, minimize reoffending, and help to create safer communities throughout Scotland.

Now it is at a point where very serious questions about our ability to keep people safe and secure are being raised.

We acknowledge the serious dangers facing the prison system, which is why the justice minister announced in parliament emergency plans to combat prison overcrowding, as well as stringent safeguards to ensure public safety.

Our greatest concern is to ensure that those who work and live in prison are kept safe,

says the author, so immediate intervention is now required.

'Reckless early release'

Opposition parties have slammed the Scottish government's handling of prisons. Liam Kerr, the Scottish justice spokesman, blamed SNP ministers for the problems and called for a rise in prison capacity.

Their only 'solution' to overcrowding is the reckless early release of dangerous criminals, which has reduced our streets and seen several of the same criminals in jail after reoffending.

We warned ministers from the start that the early-release scheme was a desperate, sticking-plaster plan doomed to fail, but they already have several more rounds of it in the coming months as Scotland's jails burst at the seams. Pauline McNeill MSP of Scotland described the situation as intolerable for jail officers and employees.These remarkable results show that the SNP's sticking plaster schemes have struggled to cope with Scotland's prisons' notoriously high rate of overcrowding.