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Prison Population

Information on the prison population is provided as a weekly time series. This shows the population in custody broken down by custody type, gender and age. It also shows the population on home detention curfew by gender.

Emergency Early Release Data

The Scottish Parliament approved the Emergency Early Release of individuals in our care, following a rapid rise in the prison population, which was already very high and complex.
 

There were four tranches of release, taking place on the Wednesday and Thursday of successive weeks, starting on 26 and 27 June  2024. 
 

The safety and wellbeing of people in our care, our staff, and the communities we support continues to be a key priority.

  • 106 individuals released

  • 136 individuals released

  • 110 individuals released

  • 125* individuals released

    *This is a final figure, which has been updated to include late releases during the week commencing 22 July.

Public Information Page (PIP)

The Public Information Page (PIP) is a document produced once per quarter (typically 6-8 weeks after the end of the quarter) which provides a range of data about the people who are in custody. It is intended to increase transparency about our operations by proactively putting it in the public domain.

Research

SPS Research actively pursues a programme of research and evaluation covering agreed priority issues, using a combination of established quantitative and qualitative methods.  We conduct in-house research such as the Prison Survey, as well as commissioning external research contractors to undertake specific projects.  The role of research is to provide sound evidence upon which policy and practice can be founded.