Overcrowding at HMP Addiewell laid bare as prison reached 'over 100 per cent capacity'

Publish date: 2024-06-12

Overcrowding at Addiewell Prison is “threatening staff safety and making inmate rehabilitation difficult” as it was revealed occupancy rates reached over 100 per cent in the prison.

New figures revealed Scotland’s prisons are “bursting at the seams” with nearly 1,800 prisoners doubling up in cells built for one person.

The statistics revealed that as of July, Addiewell had an average occupancy rate of 103 per cent.

Liberal Democrat MSP Liam McArthur, who unearthed the figures, said: “Overcrowding puts services at risk, threatens staff safety and makes it far more difficult to successfully rehabilitate people.”

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The chief inspector for Scottish prisons recently warned the number of people in custody is projected to soar in the next year.

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben said inmate numbers had fallen during the pandemic, but they were likely to go above 8,000 over the coming year.

She said: “Put simply, we send far too many people to prison for the limited accommodation and resourcing available to achieve rehabilitative change.

“The reason I and my predecessors have focused strongly on overcrowding is that it affects every part of the criminal justice system, in particular the risk to the community.

“If individuals do not have their risks and needs addressed in prison, the rate of recidivism will remain high, and at significant cost to the public purse.”

The Scottish Prison Service’s most up-to-date figures also showed ten prisons operating at more than 100pc capacity.

An SPS spokesperson said: “We have a population which is not only rapidly increasing, but also far more complex.

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“The complexity is driven by the increasing proportion of those in our care who have to be accommodated separately due to their legal status (remand or convicted), sex, age or offending history, for example, those with a history of sexual offending and individuals with links to Serious and Organised Crime.

“This complexity is further illustrated by the increase in demand for health and social care services across the prison estate in recent years, partly due to our ageing population.

“Many of our establishments are full beyond their design capacity. This increasingly restricts our staff’s ability to do the quality work that supports people’s personal development, rehabilitation, and chances of a successful reintegration into the community upon liberation.”

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