The authorities in Scotland should develop a coherent strategy to address worrying levels of prison overcrowding, according to the Council of Europe's anti-torture committee.
The European Committee for the prevention of torture (CPT) has today published a report following its visit to a number of prisons, police stations and secure accommodation centres for children in June 2025.
Persistent overcrowding affecting living conditions and activities
The report notes the steady growth of the prison population in the country despite various steps taken by the Scottish Government. It described the emergency measures taken to date as insufficient, calling for a new strategy to address both the admission and release of prisoners.
The committee noted that overcrowding was having an adverse impact on conditions of detention at the three male prisons it visited (Barlinnie, Low Moss and Perth), leading to unacceptable occupancy rates. Overcrowding and staff shortages also meant that many prisoners were being locked up in their cells for extended periods of the day.
The CPT specifically urged the authorities to improve the poor daily regime offered to inmates in separation and reintegration units, where prisoners were mostly confined to their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, without any meaningful human contact. It stressed that "carousel" or "yo-yo" situations for certain prisoners remained a real challenge.
More humane detention of women and children welcomed
The committee welcomed the significant reform of women's prisons in Scotland, including the new Stirling Prison for women and the introduction of two community custody units providing community-style living and a more humane alternative to traditional prisons.
However, the CPT noted that three different models of holding women prisoners are now in operation in the country, highlighting concerns including a limited daily regime for inmates, inter-prisoner violence and assaults on staff in in the older, mixed-gender prisons such as Polmont.
The committee also welcomed the shift from detaining children in young-offender institutions to secure care centres as a positive step forward. Nonetheless, some centres offered a better, safer environment than others. Prompt, comprehensive reforms are still required to reinforce the system of secure childcare, said the CPT.
Today's report has been published together with the response of the Scottish Government.
