Prison officers at 'crisis point' amid overcrowding and understaffing in Scotland's jails

Prison officers say they are at “crisis point” due to overcrowding and understaffing in Scotland’s jails.

A new report from the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), which represents Scotland’s 4,000 front-line prison staff, was published on Wednesday.

It highlighted serious concerns raised by officers as prisoner numbers in Scotland reach record levels.

The report stated Scotland’s prisons face an “incredibly complex and challenging prisoner mix” within the system.

Increased levels of violence, widespread drug misuse and self-harm are causing “plummeting staff morale” and placing “unbearable pressure” upon staff.

The report, launched at the POA’s annual conference, has been sent to justice secretary, Angela Constance, MSPs and MPs and senior management at The Scottish Prison Service.

The report contains 41 demands, including action on staffing pressures, supporting staff wellbeing, training, pay and recruitment.

What do Scottish prison officers have to say?

Officers say the current situation is a “ticking time bomb” and that they are struggling with the pressures of the role.

One said: “I was on a recruitment interview panel and realised the applicant was from an organised crime gang.”

Another recounted: “I have finished a shift, and helped out with my two-year-old’s sleep routine by reading a story. Unknown to myself, I have inhaled a legal high. I struggled with reading out basic words.”

One officer added: “Would you like to try to restrain a 6ft, 18 stone, 21-year-old who spends most of their time in the gym, when you are 67 years old?”

Phil Fairlie, assistant general secretary of the POA, said “crisis point really has been reached in Scotland’s prisons”.

“These skilled workers desperately want to do the job they are trained to do, but are being prevented from doing so because of the intense pressures they face on a daily basis,” he said.

“The toxic combination of overcrowding and understaffing is having a huge impact on every officer in every prison, and is the root cause of many of the problems experienced by both staff and prisoners.”

“Addressing overcrowding requires investment in both personnel and the prison estate. This is a key demand contained in this report.

“However, there are 40 further demands that must also be addressed if Scotland’s prison system is to operate in a safe, humane and rehabilitative manner, delivering what society expects with a workforce that is respected, rewarded and looked after.

“I want to thank every POA member who came forward and shared their thoughts and experiences of their service, which has in turn contributed enormously to this hard-hitting and stark report. The Scottish Government and Scottish Prison Service would be wise not to ignore its findings.

“The POA will be seeking meetings with SPS and Scottish ministers to discuss how we take forward the report’s findings and we will continue to campaign relentlessly over the coming weeks and months to deliver improved working conditions for our members, alongside a prison system that is fit for purpose.”

Scottish Government plans to release further 1,000 prisoners

The report comes after the Scottish Prison Service revealed inmate numbers reached record levels last week, peaking at 8,430 on Tuesday before dropping to 8,391 on Friday.

On Wednesday, an early release scheme was backed by a Holyrood comittee, which will be Scotland’s third if it is voted forward. The plans must also be approved by the Holyrood chamber at a later date before coming into force.

Justice secretary Angela Constance told the committee the proposals are only being discussed due to the current situation in Scotland’s prisons.

She said: “The continued rise in the prison population and its complexity is putting significant pressure on our prisons, impacting the Scottish Prison Service and partners’ ability to ensure prisons function effectively and safely and accommodate those who pose the greatest risk of harm.”

Constance continued: “It is my view that the legal test for emergency release has been met and is necessary and proportionate to ensure the prison service can maintain security and good order of prisons and the health, safety, and welfare of prisoners and prison staff.

“While this was not a decision that was taken lightly, the increasing number of prisoners in custody is now at a level where the Scottish Prison Service’s assessed capacity tolerance has been breached on more than one occasion.”

She later said: “It’s an emergency situation because of the risk to health, well-being and safety of both staff and prisoners. Doing nothing is not an option. Our hard-working prison staff and their partners need to know that we have their back, they need to know that help is coming.”

The plans will see the release of prisoners who are sentenced to less than four years and are due to be freed within 180 days of certain dates between November and April 2026.

Releases will take place across a six-month period, but certain prisoners will not be freed early.

These include those serving a life sentence and those in prison for a domestic abuse offence or subject to sexual offender notification requirements.

Parties condemn ‘knee-jerk’ early release plans

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr said he opposes the plans and he described them a “knee-jerk response”.

He said: “I think it’s clear that Victim Support Scotland are right when they say this is no solution and we will be in this situation next April following a further 1,000 prisoners having been released.

“I think the knee-jerk response has now become the default response and there’s been no real progress since the previous early releases to stop this repeatedly happening.”

He also said he had not seen “enough evidence of other options being considered”.

Scottish Labour justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill also opposed the plans as she said: “There are consequences, it isn’t a straightforward issue and we want to release the pressure in our prisons, but if we do so, this is the third time we’ve been here.

“My main concern is that I just do not want to endorse an approach of managing prisoners in this way.”

Speaking to journalists at the IPPR Scotland conference on Wednesday, First Minister John Swinney said: “We’re still imprisoning large numbers of people for relatively short periods of time. We are also placing on remand larger numbers of people as well.

“Also because of the success of the police and the Crown imprisoning people for longer periods because of the heinous crimes that they have committed, that means that more of our prison population is taken up by longer serving individuals who will be there for longer.

“There are issues that we have to address about remand and about short-term sentences. Long sentences for heinous crimes, they are necessary, but I think there is a need for us to look at other disposals.”

Teresa Medhurst, chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service, said last week: “Our staff have been managing an extremely complex and far too high population for almost two years. Their skill, dedication, and professionalism in the face of this challenge has been outstanding.

“However, we have now reached a new record high – an unfortunate landmark which none of us wanted to see.

“The level of overcrowding in our establishments was already restricting our staff’s ability to build relationships, support rehabilitation, reduce reoffending, and help to build safer communities across Scotland.

“Now it is reaching a level that raises very serious concerns around our ability to keep people safe and secure.

“I am grateful for the cabinet secretary for justice and home affairs’ leadership in this area and it is clear that further action is needed to support all those living and working in Scotland’s prisons at this time.”