Deaths in Scottish prisons amongst very best in Europe

Deaths in Scotland’s prisons have higher through 60% up to now yr, a document has published.

The Scottish Centre for Criminal Justice Research (SCCJR) discovered 64 other folks died in prison in 2024 – up from 40 in 2023.

Researchers stated the mortality charge had greater than doubled over the last decade and used to be now a few of the very best in Europe.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) stated each loss of life in custody used to be “a tragedy for all those who knew and supported the individual”.

According to the document 17 of the deaths closing yr had been suicides or obvious suicides, 10 had been associated with medicine, 27 had been attributed to “health condition or incident”, one used to be a murder and one used to be labeled as “other/accident”.

The last 8 had been undetermined or stay beneath investigation, it stated.

The Glasgow University workforce at the back of the document stated the total degree of deaths in custody closing yr used to be the very best since fashionable information started, in 1995, and nearly without a doubt the very best ever.

“That rise is absolutely stunning. It’s unprecedented,” stated Professor Sarah Armstrong who led the analysis.

The document additionally stated jail deaths from suicide have been emerging since 2016 and can have reached a document top closing yr.

Prof Armstrong stated she used to be inspired through the SPS response to a document into the deaths of Katie Allan, 21, and William Brown, 16, who took their very own lives in Polmont Young Offenders Institution in 2018.

But she stated there have been problems with “organisational culture” in Scottish prisons and that there had to be a transfer clear of treating the extent of deaths as commonplace.

Katie Allan’s mom, Linda, is called as a co-author of the document.

She stated:in a remark: “We need independent, timely investigations for every death that occurs while someone is in the care of the state.”

The document stated deficient air high quality, get entry to to healthcare, prolonged classes locked in cells and higher isolation may just “lead to a loss of hope.”

Prof Armstrong stated the workforce recognized a habitual trend in jail deaths with officials no longer adequately finishing cellular exams, well being considerations being handled as “drug seeking behaviour” and indicators of declining psychological well being “not being acted upon”.

She added: “When we looked at international comparators our death rates are more like Azerbaijan and Moldova, where torture and corruption have been documented.”

Prof Armstrong stated it used to be “anomalous that we have one single state organisation that is immune from prosecution”.

It comes after SPS head Teresa Medhurst stated the jail carrier must face the opportunity of prison prosecution over deaths in custody – already the case for personal prisons.

The SPS stated it used to be in the end for a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) to resolve each and every reason for loss of life, however added it revealed main points of all deaths in custody which indicated there have been 14 suicides in 2024, “the same level as in 2019 and 2022.”

A spokesperson stated: “We are determined to deliver systemic change, at pace, to how we support people in our care, in a way which will be enduring, transparent, and impactful.”

An FAI is a prison requirement for any loss of life in a Scottish jail.

The researchers stated in addition to deaths through suicide there have been “numerous deaths from acute health events or from conditions which are normally manageable in the community”.

They argued that pandemic restrictions “have a sustained legacy in Scottish prisons,” with many inmates nonetheless locked in cells from overdue afternoon till the next morning.

“Such restrictions have been associated with intensifying isolation and deteriorating mental health,” the researchers conclude.

“In that category of so-called natural causes deaths are 30 and 40-year-olds who are dying from things like heart attacks or from diabetes or epilepsy,” stated Prof Armstrong.

“Technology and new buildings are not going to fix this – it’s the human element, it’s the organisational culture, it’s the relationships between people in prisons.”

According to the document, there used to be one loss of life of a trans lady in 2024 and the rest 63 deaths had been males.

It calculates that during 2022 – the newest yr for which related knowledge are to be had – there used to be a charge of 592.8 jail deaths in keeping with 100,000 in Scotland in comparison to 368 in keeping with 100,000 in England and Wales.

The sharp build up in Scotland may just no longer be defined through a upward thrust within the jail inhabitants, stated the researchers.

They identified that deaths had risen from 24 to 64 between 2014 and 2024 – a bounce of 167% – whilst the collection of prisoners had risen through round 4.5% in the similar length.

“Nor can the increase be attributed entirely to the ageing of the prison population,” the document provides.

Prof Armstrong famous that the jail inhabitants used to be additionally growing old in England and in america, and but neither nation had noticed a equivalent upward thrust in deaths.

The document additionally tested deaths in different kinds of “state custody” corresponding to psychological well being amenities, detention centres for migrants and asylum lodging, and amongst other folks with studying disabilities and autism.

It concludes that the “quality of information” about such deaths “continues to suffer from gaps, inconsistencies and errors,” and requires enhancements.

The Scottish govt stated each loss of life in custody used to be tragic and stated it will “carefully consider the findings of this sobering annual report”.

A spokesperson stated: “The health and wellbeing of all those in custody is a priority for this Government and we continue to work with partners to ensure their safety.

“All of Sheriff Collins’s suggestions in his decision of the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the deaths at Polmont YOI of Katie and William had been authorized and the paintings on those is being delivered at tempo with growth intently monitored.”