Revealed: Scotland’s most overcrowded prisons

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today revealed the most overcrowded prisons in Scotland and demanded that the SNP/Green Government urgently tackle the growing crisis, after a series of parliamentary questions uncovered that nearly 60% of Scottish prisons are now operating over capacity.  

Of the 17 prisons across Scotland, the 10 now operating above capacity are:    

• HMP Barlinnie. The prison has a 140% occupancy rate, which means that it is now holding 392 more people than it was designed for.    
• HMP Inverness.    
• HMP Glenochil.    
• HMP Dumfries.    
• HMP Kilmarnock.    
• HMP Edinburgh.    
• HMP Perth.    
• HMP Addiewell.    
• HMP Low Moss.    
• HMP Greenock.  

Scottish Liberal Democrat parliamentary questions also uncovered that as of 7th August, across the total prison estate, 1,796 people were accommodated with another person in a cell designed for one person. This represents 37% of all single-person cell occupants.

The annual report from HM Chief Inspector Prisons highlighted overcrowding as a “key concern of HMIPS in consecutive reports for over a decade.” It noted that with the recent spike in prisoner numbers, “the likelihood of an adverse impact on the ability of the SPS to manage a decent, rehabilitative, and humane regime is clear.”

In August, the governor of HMP Barlinnie, Michael Stoney, stated that the prison is so overcrowded and outdated that it risks “catastrophic failure” at any time.      

In July, an Irish court refused to extradite a man to Scotland, indicating that prison overcrowding would result in him facing a “real and substantial risk of inhuman and degrading treatment.”    

Mr McArthur said:     

“For years Scottish Liberal Democrats have been highlighting the serious problem of overcrowding across our prison estate. On the SNP’s watch, most prisons are now bursting at the seams with people being packed in like sardines.

“Overcrowding puts services at risk, threatens staff safety and makes it far more difficult to successfully rehabilitate people.

“Ministers, however, appear unable or unwilling to respond to the crisis. The project to replace Scotland’s largest prison, HMP Barlinnie, has become a farce. Earlier estimates, costs and timescales have been abandoned and replaced with a holding statement.  

“To ease the mounting pressures on prisons, Scottish Liberal Democrats would create a properly-funded justice system that can deliver robust and credible community sentences where appropriate. We also need to see a modern prison estate that can strike a balance between punishing, rehabilitating and supporting; that is how we will reduce reoffending and make communities safer.”