Scotland’s prison population has surged by 6% in the past year, reaching 7,860 inmates on an average day during 2023-24.
The escalation stems primarily from an increased number of sentenced prisoners, with sexual offences and dishonesty crimes driving significant growth in incarceration rates.
Sexual offences saw a striking 12% increase, with 1,392 individuals now serving sentences in this category, while crimes of dishonesty jumped by 17% to 344 prisoners.
Non-sexual violent crimes remain the predominant offence group, accounting for 45% of the sentenced population and totalling 2,722 prisoners, representing a modest 4% increase.
A notable demographic shift emerges in the prison population’s composition, with non-British nationals growing from 5% in 2017-18 to 9% in 2023-24.
European Economic Area nationals constitute the largest non-British group, comprising 607 individuals experiencing imprisonment—a consistent trend since 2010.
Prison arrivals have increased by approximately 11% to 11,646, yet remain below pre-pandemic levels of 14,341 recorded in 2019-20.
Remand populations have stabilised, with median time on remand holding steady at 21 days, though still significantly longer than pre-pandemic periods.
The proportion of prisoners serving shorter sentences has declined, with those on sentences of four years or less dropping from 53% in 2019-20 to 44% in the current reporting period.
These statistics underscore a complex judicial landscape, reflecting evolving societal challenges and the criminal justice system’s response to changing offence patterns.
British nationals continue to dominate the prison population, representing over 90% of individuals experiencing imprisonment in Scotland during 2023-24.
The data suggests a nuanced picture of criminal justice trends, highlighting shifts in sentencing, population demographics, and offence categories that merit careful consideration by policymakers and social researchers.
