In February 2024, the third annual report into deaths in custody in Scotland was published. It found that 244 people had died in custody or under the control of the state between between October 2022 and September 2023. 38 people died in prison and the death rate in 2021-23 was 618 (per 100,000) compared to 242 (per 100,000) in 2008-10. It also found that suicide (6) and drug deaths (7 plus 5 suspected) accounted for between one-third to one half of all deaths in prison custody in 2022-23.

On 17 June 2024, the Death in Prison Custody: Action Plan - March 2024 Update was published. It’s useful to look at this alongside the Council of Europe’s annual penal statistics which were published on 5 June 2024. They showed that only 3 countries in Europe have a higher prison suicide rate than Scotland. The European median is 5.3 suicides per 10,000 prisoners. In England and Wales the rate is 9.3. In Scotland it’s 18.9.