If prison isn’t to be a death sentence we need better prisons - or better alternatives

The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) have found that deaths in Scottish prisons have risen to one of the highest in Europe. From 40 in 2023 to 64 in 2024, with some of the most common reasons stated as health conditions, suicide and drug-related causes.

Furthermore, the SCCJR found that the overall number of people who died while in custody or in the care of the state in 2024 was a staggering  244 people. While a Fatal Accident Inquiry is automatically provided for those who died while in prison or police custody, those who died under different custody circumstances or care of the state are not provided the same right. Which unfortunately means that we won’t know how the majority of those passed away or if the state was to some extent responsible.

This embarrassing finding is another example of how Scotland’s prison estate is one of the worst in Europe, in so many different ways.

Although we are set to build and replace the current Barlinnie prison in Glasgow this just goes to show our under-funded prison estate is not capable of either rehabilitation or offering a safe place.

The centre also found that 16 children and young persons died while in the care of the state, including a person with disabilities residing in a hospital. Scotland has previously been scrutinised for its high number of young people dying while in the youth estate and a few high-profile cases in the media have highlighted the need for change. Yet, these numbers indicate that change is slow to come.

Radical reform is needed in the prison estate if we are to improve and increase rehabilitation, provide people with a better standard of living on the outside, deliver true justice and actually help people. However, at the very least we should be keeping people alive.

Prison should not be a death sentence. The data shows that those with mental health issues are more likely to die in custody. The suicide rate for those on remand in prison is untenably high, and yet our remand population is one of the highest in Europe, once again.

There are two options that the Scottish Government can start putting in motion right now. No need to wait on another consultation or research, there is enough evidence out there to show the current model is a waste of time and ineffective.

Either they enact a prison model that resembles more like Norway, which emphasises rehabilitation and alternatives to the usual prison establishments. Looking at placements that remove troubled people from their usual tumultuous environments and give them stability, teaching them life skills that they’ve not had access to. With accountability and responsibility at the core of these environments, while treating crime as a public health issue. Something that isn’t present currently.

Or, they build bigger and better prisons that allow prison officers to offer better care so that we don’t have another large increase of people dying while in the care of the state, and have a more streamlined healthcare and mental health service available in prisons. However, considering the high rate at which we throw people in prison, building bigger prisons should not be seen as an incentive to fill them, and more out of prison alternatives must be invested in. Either way, this is not the option that will enact the most positive change, but if that’s what’s needed to keep more people alive, so be it.

What the findings from the SCCJR prove is once again we have one of the worst prison services in Europe, one that is in desperate need of reform. We do not have the death penalty in this country for a reason, going to prison should not increase the likelihood of dying. Furthermore, if we want to explore a different way and do better we must know how people are dying. Therefore a Fatal Accident Inquiry is essential when anyone in custody or in the care of state passes away, no exceptions.