Inmates in Scottish prisons are getting their luggage ready as the British government finalizes plans to release over a hundred prisoners, in an effort to ease the burden of overcrowded correctional facilities across the United Kingdom.
This development, which is part of the new legislation, that took effect 7 days ago, is expected to reduce the prison population by 5%, and enhance the prison estate can continue to function effectively.
Under the emergency legislation passed last November, Scottish inmates sentenced to less than four years are eligible for early release after serving 40% of their term, unless convicted of domestic abuse or sexual offenses.
“ In line with trends seen elsewhere in the U.K., Scotland’s prison population has significantly grown in recent years and, consequently, this rise has impacted prisons and the wider justice system,” a Scottish government spokesperson said.
During a press briefing, a Scottish Prison spokesperson disclosed that the country has been managing an extremely high and complex prison population for more than a year, putting considerable pressure on those living and working in the facility.
According to British government statistics, Scotland’s prisons housed almost 8,000 prisoners every day in 2024, a 6% increase from the previous years.
The prison population across the U.K. was just more than 97,000 people in March 2024, according to the most recent British government data which projected that number to grow by around 4,500 every year while prisons remained “almost full,” it stated.
Last year, the U.K. government launched a major review of its sentencing laws and allowed judges to sentence offenders to house arrest. It also freed more than 1,700 prisoners across England and Wales in September.
Another 470 Scottish inmates were released early from prison last August, but 61 ended up back in custody before their original planned release date.
