On 05 October 2023, HMIPS published its full inspection of HMP Perth. Yet again serious concerns were raised including overcrowding; cell-sizes which don’t meet Council of Europe Anti-Torture Committee agreed standards and the poor condition of the buildings. The pre-inspection report’s findings didn’t always chime with the findings of the main inspection, however, it did contain some worrying findings: 57% of respondents reported having witnessed staff members abusing, threatening, bullying or assaulting another prisoner and 36% reported                      experiencing this themselves; whilst of those who were due for release in the next 6 weeks, 56% said that they did not feel well prepared for a life outside prison; 73% of them also said that they were not getting the help they need to set up support for their mental health upon their release.

On 21 July 2023 HMIPS published its Thematic Review of Segregation in Scottish Prisons. It was a highly critical report, highlighting a raft of concerns at an individual and systemic level, with some very troubling findings including serious prisoner mistreatment at an unnamed prison. It also covered the issue of a lack of high secure beds for women in Scotland, linking it to the Independent Forensic Mental Health Review’s strong recommendation that this be actioned within 9 months of its 2021 report. SPICe (Scottish Parliament Information Centre) also published a briefing paper on Forensic Mental Health Services in Scotland, reiterating similar points.