Scotland's prison population reaches new record high

Scotland's prison population has reached a new record high, despite the emergency early release of more than 500 convicted criminals.

On Tuesday, 8,452 people were being held in the country's jails.

Hundreds of prisoners serving sentences of less than four years have been freed early since November in an attempt to reduce overcrowding.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the rising prison population was at a "critical point" and work was underway to address it in the long term.

Last night the Scottish Parliament backed plans to reduce the automatic release point for short-term prisoners from 40% to 30% of their sentence.

The changes would not apply to those convicted of domestic abuse or sexual offences, and ministers say it could reduce the prison population by up to 312.

The plans were passed without a vote last night after Holyrood's presiding officer Alison Johnstone failed to hear an objection from the Scottish Conservatives.

In October, the prison population size hit its most recent record high of 8,430 which surpassed the previous record of 8,420 from 2012.

Opposition MSPs have accused the Scottish government of mismanaging the justice system.

Scotland - which along with other parts of Britain has one of the highest incarceration rates in Europe - has announced several emergency measures in recent years in a bid to cut prisoner numbers.

Just last year, the government changed the law to cut the point of release for all eligible short-term prisoners from 50% to 40% of their sentence.

Two previous schemes, carried out in 2024 and the spring of 2025, saw almost 800 prisoners freed.

Despite these efforts, the population continues to rise with more people being locked up.

Scotland's prisons were designed to hold 7,805 inmates, meaning they are now accommodating more than 600 additional people - enough to fill another prison the size of HMP & YOI Grampian or HMP Shotts.

Two new prisons are being built - one in Inverness and one in Glasgow - and will add around 450 spaces to the prison estate.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said addressing the issue in the long term would require "bold" and "collaborative" action.

She said: "Scotland's prison population is at a critical point, and last night's vote reflects Parliament's recognition that we must act to ensure our prisons can continue to operate safely and effectively, and deliver important rehabilitative work.

"Moving the automatic release point for certain short-term prisoners from 40% to 30% of their sentence is part of a considered, responsible approach to managing the prison estate sustainably.

"This is an immediate measure, but it cannot be the whole answer."

Constance said work was underway in response to the Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission's recommendations, which highlighted the importance of using community-based alternatives to short custodial sentences to reduce reoffending.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesman said it had been managing an "extremely high and complex population" for more than two years, which had an "increasingly destabilising impact" on prisons and staff efforts to support rehabilitation.

He said the change to the release point of short term prisoners would provide "welcome respite".

"We need to see a long-term reduction in our population, so we can fully support people in our care, reduce their risk of reoffending, and help build the safer communities we all want to see," he added.