WIREDGOV

A National Statistics Publication for Scotland

Updated prison statistics have been released recently by Scotland’s Chief Statistician. Prison statistics Scotland 2012-13 include information on the Scottish prison population, including population by type of custody and establishment, characteristics of prisoners, and receptions to / liberations from penal establishments. Due to delays in processing the data, figures for 2012-13 are being put into the public domain as web tables pending processing of more recent data.

The main points are:

• The prison population in 2012-13 showed a slight drop of 1 per cent compared to the previous year, falling from an average daily population of 8,179 to 8,058.
• This decrease is primarily driven by a fall of 8 per cent in the remand population, from 1,602 to 1,469.
• The drop is particularly marked for young people, where the population fell by 15 per cent to 690.
• The average daily population decreased by 1 per cent to 7,598 for men, while the female population decreased by 2 per cent to 459.

Notes To Editors

The web tables can be accessed through the Scottish Government website athttp://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PubPrisons.

This is a National Statistics release for Scotland. Official and National Statistics are produced to professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs and are produced free from political interference. more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be found at: 
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/About

Technical problems have resulted in delays in processing the prisons data, therefore the 2012-13 data is now being put into the public domain as web tables pending final processing of more recent data. The 2013-14 data will be released as part of a more substantive publication later in the year, including updated population projections.

More recent population figures based on Scottish Prison Service management information confirm that the prison population has continued to fall since 2012-13. The most recent published figure for 2014-15 shows a drop of 2 per cent over the previous year. These figures are published in the Scottish Prison Service annual reports available on the SPS website (http://www.sps.gov.uk). SPS also publish population figures on a weekly basis and these can be found at: http://www.sps.gov.uk/Corporate/Information/SPSPopulation.aspx.

Further information on Criminal Justice statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice