Deaths in custody reach new high

Responding to new figures showing the number of people dying while in prison custody has surged to the highest level since 2012, with 54 deaths recorded in prison custody in 2023-24, Scottish Liberal Democrat deputy leader and former police officer Wendy Chamberlain MP said:

“These figures are very distressing, and they reflect the dangerous conditions inside Scotland’s prisons.

“To bring down deaths, we need to give prison staff the necessary resources, roll out mental health professionals across the estate and reform the FAI system so that lessons are learned as swiftly as possible.

“That’s how we ensure our prisons are both humane and productive places for people to serve out a sentence.”