Statistics on life sentence prisoners: FOI release

Information requested

Statistics on life sentence prisoners (including Order for Lifelong Restriction prisoners) currently on licence in the community in Scotland as of the most recent date available, the number of life sentence prisoners living in the community in Scotland on licence at the end of each year for the last 5 years and also the number of life sentence prisoners who have been recalled to custody in the last 5 years in Scotland, distinguishing between recalls for breach of licence conditions and those for commission of a new offence.

Response

In relation to the first two parts of your request regarding the number of Life sentence prisoners on licence in the community in Scotland (including Order for Lifelong Restriction prisoners) as of the most recent date available and the number of life sentence prisoners who were living in the community in Scotland in the past 5 years at the end of each year, this information is available below:

End of financial year (31 March)	Life Sentence – in community on licence	Order for Lifelong Restriction Sentence – in community on licence
2024-25	397	14
2023-24	396	12
2022-23	390	8
2021-22	395	8
2020-21	397	Data not available

If you would like to find out more information, please visit the Justice Social Work Statistics page on the Scottish Government website using the following link: Justice social work statistics: local authority time series tables - gov.scot. This information is stored under the Excel document named ‘Throughcare – Part 1 – 2024-25’, more specifically under Table 7. Please note the information available is presented as at the end of each financial year.

In relation to the last part of your request regarding the number of recalls to custody of Life sentence prisoners from the community in Scotland for each of the past five years, part of this information is available below:

End of financial year (31 March)	Life Sentence – recalled to custody	Order for Lifelong Restriction Sentence – recalled to custody
2023-24	40	2
2022-23	34	1
2021-22	30	Data not available
2020-21	26	Data not available
2019-20	41	Data not available

In regards to distinguishing between recalls for breach of licence conditions and those for commission of a new offence, this information is not available. If you would like to find out more information, please visit the Publications section of the Parole Board for Scotland website using the following link: Publications | Parole Board for Scotland or the link that has been previously provided for Justice Social Work Statistics.

Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.