Scottish prison population: statistics 2019 to 2020

This publication explores the characteristics of imprisoned people in Scotland. Following several years of sustained decrease, the prison population has risen sharply since 2017-2018 to an annual average of around 8,200 in 2019-2020.

This document is part of a collection


Footnotes

1. A number of tables and figures in the previous reports were also based on 'snapshots': single-day extracts.

2. See section 6.1 for more information

3. Scottish Prison Service, Annual Population:
https://www.sps.gov.uk/Corporate/Information/SPSPopulation.aspx

4. Scottish Government, Prison statistics and population projections Scotland: 2013-14:
https://www2.gov.scot/Publications/2015/12/5123/0

5. Prison statistics and population projections Scotland: 2013-14
https://www2.gov.scot/Publications/2015/12/5123/downloads#res491417

6. National Records of Scotland, Mid-year Population Estimates:
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/population/population-estimates/mid-year-population-estimates/population-estimates-time-series-data

7. Scottish Surveys Core Questions (SSCQ) 2018, Supplementary Tables, Table 4.5: "Limiting Long-term Physical or Mental Health Condition" provides an age distribution of self-reported disability
https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-surveys-core-questions-2018-analytical-tables/

8. National Records of Scotland, Scotland's Census 2011 - Table DC2101SC - Ethnic group by sex by age:
https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/ods-web/standard-outputs.html

9. The base population by ethnicity for 2011-12 is drawn from the 2011 Census (see footnote 8). For subsequent years, ethnic group sizes are drawn from the pooled sample of Scottish Surveys Core Questions (SSCQ) and therefore have an associated margin of error provided in the "range" column of Table 2.

Using SSCQ data makes it possible to control for the increasing age (into adulthood) of those youngest minority ethnic populations when the census was taken in 2011.

In both cases, population rates are based only on populations aged 16 or over, due to the SSCQ's methodology:
https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/About/Surveys/SSCQ/

10. See section 6.2: Arrivals and Departures for more information

11. Scottish Criminal Proceedings Statistics, 2018-19, Table 10(d):
https://www.gov.scot/publications/criminal-proceedings-scotland-2018-19/pages/29/

12. See https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/SIMD/ for more information on the SIMD

13. Scottish Criminal Proceedings Statistics, 2018-19, Table 10(d):
https://www.gov.scot/publications/criminal-proceedings-scotland-2018-19/pages/29/

14. HDC allows prisoners to be released early from prison on an electronic monitoring tag

15. See section 4: Departures

16. See the associated Data Table B2 for average daily population statistics by age, also available at
https://scotland.shinyapps.io/sg-prison-population-statistics/

17. See section 6.2: Arrivals and Departures

18. https://www.gov.scot/publications/criminal-proceedings-scotland-2018-19/

19. Defined as those serving a sentence of less than 4 years. More information on HDC is available on the SPS website:
https://www.sps.gov.uk/Corporate/Information/HomeDetentionCurfew.aspx

20. Audit Scotland (2019)
https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/uploads/docs/report/2019/s22_190912_sps.pdf

21. See Conlong (2019), available in addendum here:
https://www.parliament.scot/S5_Public_Audit/General%20Documents/SG_SPS_20191216.pdf

22. See also Recorded Crime in Scotland 2018-19 for further context:
https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2018-19/

Contact

Email: justice_analysts@gov.scot

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