McArthur: Prison crisis shows every sign of getting worse

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur has today warned that the Scottish prison crisis is far from over as new figures revealed that the average daily prison population increased 4.5% last year.

New figures from the Scottish Prison Service reveal:

• The average daily prison population (ADP) in 2024-25 was 8,216 - an increase of 4.5% from 2023-24 (7,860) and is the highest ADP recorded.

• Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, the largest increase in the average daily sentenced population was those serving sentences for Sexual crimes (+14% to 1,614 in 2024-25).  

• Together with the population serving sentences for non-sexual Crimes of Violence (+2% to 2,848 in 2024-25), these two groups account for a growing proportion of the overall average daily sentenced population (over 70% in 2024-25).

• The overall average daily remand population remained stable between 2023-24 and 2024-25, at 1,797 (+1).  

• The average daily population of young people (under 21 years) remained stable in 2024-25, increasing by less than 1% from the previous year.

• Median time on remand before departure remained at around 22 days in 2024-25, the longest periods spent on remand had been increasing over time, with a sharp increase during 2020-21. Time on remand peaked in 2022-23, with the longest 10% of stays before departure from remand taking 146 days or more. By 2024-25, the longest 10% of stays took 87 days or more – a falling trend but still substantially longer than pre-pandemic.  

Mr McArthur said:

“These figures show Scottish prisons are full to bursting. Despite the emergency release of prisoners by Scottish Ministers the prison crisis shows every sign of getting worse.

“When prisons are overflowing, it is harder for staff to maintain order and harder to steer prisoners away from future reoffending.

“More than 1 in 5 of those being held in prison have not yet been convicted.

“Robust community-based measures are a key part of the solution to prison overcrowding. They can ease pressure on the system and ensure people get a credible alternative to prison time. The Scottish Government must do more to improve enforcement of these orders.

“Scottish Liberal Democrats want to see a modern prison estate that strikes the correct balance between punishing, rehabilitating and reducing reoffending. To achieve that, the government must get serious about clearing court backlogs, giving staff the resources they need and driving down the use of remand.”