On 24 September 2019, the Scottish Government published its Recorded Crime in Scotland figures for 2018-19. These showed a rise of 1% in total crime recorded by the police in Scotland since 2017-18, with non-sexual crimes of violence increasing by 10% and sexual crimes increasing by 8%.  It was noted that these figures should be observed against a backdrop of a 27% decrease in overall crime recorded since 2009-10 and that the recording of crime remained at one of the lowest levels seen since 1974.

Recorded Crime in Scotland Figures (2018-19)

Audit Scotland published its audit of SPS on 12 September 2019. This highlighted that SPS is unable to operate within its budget and is operating well over capacity. It advised that annual staff sickness had increased by 60% in 3 years; there was growing violence between prisoners and against prison officers; and that operational safety was at risk.

Almost all the issues it raised were as a result of the unacceptably high prison population, which we maintain must be decreased in order to provide safe and appropriate conditions for both prisoners and staff.

The 2018/9 Audit of the Scottish Prison Service