deaths in custody
Deaths in Custody
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.
Deaths in Prison Custody in Scotland 2012-2022
On 30 August 2023, the Scottish Government published a report entitled, ‘Deaths in Prison Custody in Scotland 2012-2022’. It’s the data and evidence produced by the Deaths in Prison Custody Action Group (DiPCAG) which was set up to provide independent oversight and leadership to the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison Custody. It found that 350 people died in prison in Scotland between 2012 and 2022, with the death rate having more than trebled over that period.
The Chairperson of DiPCAG, Gill Imery, gave evidence to the Criminal Justice Committee on the report on 20 September 2023. She was very critical of the lack of progress and of SPS’s attitude to her group’s work.
'Still Nothing to See Here' Follow Up Report
On 30 November 2022 a follow up report (‘Still Nothing To See Here’) from the University of Glasgow on Deaths in Custody and Fatal Accident Inquiries (FAIs) was published. It found that there were more deaths in Scottish prisons over the past 3 years than in any other 3 year period on record; that the chance of dying in prison in 2022 was twice that of someone who was in prison in 2008; and that there had been a 42% rise in suicides since SPS’ suicide prevention policy (TTM) was introduced.
It was followed on 14 December 2022 by a follow up report to the Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison Custody: Progress Report, published by the Scottish Government.
Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison Custody
On 30/11/21 HMIPS, Families Outside and SHRC published the Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison Custody. It contained a great number of recommendations under the following 5 themes: Family contact with the prison and involvement in care; Policies and processes after a death; Family contact and support following a death; Support for staff and other people held in prison after a death; and SPS and NHS documentation concerning deaths. Its key recommendation was “that a separate independent investigation should be undertaken into each death in prison custody. This should be carried out by a body wholly independent of the Scottish Ministers, the SPS or the private prison operator, and the NHS.”
Allan Marshall FAI Recommendations
On 21 January 2021 (18 months after the FAI), the SPS advised Allan Marshall’s family of their decision not to implement three of the 13 recommendations from the FAI. One of the recommendations not implemented referred to the use of feet by prison officers when restraining prisoners. As we know there is no legal imperative for the SPS (as with other organisations) to adopt the recommendations of this or any other FAI.
This tragic case continues to give rise to various questions about past and current practices within the prison service: as early as the preliminary hearing, control and restraint documents required by the inquiry were knowingly withheld and unnecessarily redacted by SPS. Vital evidence was destroyed, and on multiple occasions, statements given to the FAI by both prison officers and senior management were flatly contradicted by CCTV evidence, leading Sheriff Gordon Liddle to describe prison staff as "mutually and consistently dishonest". SPS then went to great lengths to try to keep the CCTV footage out of public sight. In an extremely rare move, the officers called to give evidence at the FAI, were granted immunity from prosecution.
All the prison officers, bar one, initially told the inquiry that they were unaware of any officer using their feet during the restraint. When confronted by the video evidence, most of them changed their position, with one officer describing his own behaviour in using his feet to "stamp on" Mr. Marshall, as "totally out of order". Officers used their feet on more than ten occasions, which were clearly seen in video evidence. Expert witnesses confirmed that the use of a foot was not a recognised control and restraint technique and were quite clear that the use of feet was not justified. Both of the expert witnesses advised of the particular risks to breathing associated with the use of feet.
However, SPS has chosen not to implement the recommendation to provide specific training on the use of feet as a control and restraint technique, or to specifically disallow it. Instead, "in exceptional circumstances" SPS will allow its staff the scope to use dangerous and unapproved control and restraint techniques for which they haven't received specific training. Our belief is that Allan Marshall's death occurred in such "exceptional circumstances" - exactly the type of circumstances in which prison officers needed to know how to mitigate the potential consequences of their unapproved actions, either through thorough training or by being prevented from using such potentially life-endangering actions at all.
In October 2019, SPS advised that they would be unlikely to implement Sheriff Liddle's recommendation that a clear policy be put in place where prisoners presenting with symptoms of psychosis must not be placed under physical restraint until they had been assessed by healthcare professionals and it having been deemed safe for the prisoner to be restrained. It has taken until January 2021 for SPS to reiterate that this would "be challenging to implement ... given SPS' duty of care that requires prison officers to respond immediately where an individual is at risk of harm to themselves or others" and that "[t]here is a section within the revised manual designed to begin to address these challenges ... with a focus on de-escalation". Almost six years after Allan Marshall's death, there isn't a clear policy to prevent this happening to someone else in the future, merely a section in a training manual which "begin[s]" to address these challenges and a statement that "SPS is giving further consideration to prevention strategies and managing behaviour in order to avoid the need to use restraint".
In much the same way that the FAI determined that it can't be left to SPS to choose what evidence to redact, Howard League Scotland believes that it shouldn't be up to SPS to decide which of the recommendations they're going to implement and which they're not. Their conduct in this case suggests a wish to actively avoid external scrutiny, and in some circumstances, to behave with impunity. SPS's long-overdue response to the recommendations of the FAI is far from satisfactory and should not go unchallenged.
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2024
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Reducing Scotland's Prison Population (Yet Again ...)
4th November 2024
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No Children in Prisons in Scotland
4th November 2024
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HMIPS Inspection Reports - Women's Estate
4th November 2024
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High Secure Mental Health Unit for Women
4th November 2024
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HMIPS Annual Report 2023/4
4th November 2024
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Children's Hearings Redesign Consultation
4th November 2024
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‘Review…Review ... Recommend … Repeat … An assessment of where human rights have stalled in places of detention’
4th November 2024
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Scottish Sentencing Council - Draft Rape Sentencing Guidelines
4th November 2024
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HMIPS Thematic Review of Prison Progression
4th November 2024
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Reducing Scotland's Prison Population (Again)
4th November 2024
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Order for Lifelong Restriction Prisoner Judicial Review
4th November 2024
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HMIPS Full Inspection of HMP Edinburgh
4th November 2024
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GEOAmey Prison Transport Contract Issues
4th November 2024
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Closure of Turning Point 218
4th November 2024
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Deaths in Custody
4th November 2024
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Prison Population Pressures
4th November 2024
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HMIPS Full Inspection of HMP & YOI Polmont
24th April 2024
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Audit Scotland: 2022/23 Audit of the Scottish Prison Service
24th April 2024
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SPS Policy for the Management of Transgender People in Custody
24th April 2024
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Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2022-23
24th April 2024
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Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2021/22
24th April 2024
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Criminal Justice Committee: Pre-budget Scrutiny Report 2024/5
24th April 2024
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Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022
24th April 2024
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Prison Population Projections
24th April 2024
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HMIPS Full Inspection of HMP Perth
24th April 2024
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Cabinet Secretary for Justice Statement to the Scottish Parliament
24th April 2024
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HMIPS Annual Report 2022-23
24th April 2024
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SPS Corporate Plan 2023 - 2028
24th April 2024
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Justice Analytical Services (JAS) Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report
24th April 2024
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Deaths in Prison Custody in Scotland 2012-2022
24th April 2024
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Scottish Sentencing Council: Statutory Offences of Causing Death By Driving Guideline
24th April 2024
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The Case for Gendered and Intersectional Approaches to Justice
24th April 2024
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Associations Between Significant Head Injury in Male Juveniles in Prison in Scotland UK and Cognitive Function, Disability and Crime
24th April 2024
2023
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HMIPS Thematic Review of Segregation in Scottish Prisons
18th September 2023
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HMP Greenock Full Inspection Report
18th September 2023
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Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill
18th September 2023
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Recorded Crime in Scotland 2022-2023
18th September 2023
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Prison Mobile Phone Phase Out
18th September 2023
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Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill
18th September 2023
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Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Corporate Plan (2023-26) & Business Plan (2023-24)
18th September 2023
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Prisoner Voting
18th September 2023
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HMP Addiewell Full Inspection
18th September 2023
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Journey Times in Scotland's Criminal Justice System Report
18th September 2023
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Joint Review of Diversion From Prosecution
18th September 2023
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'Still Nothing to See Here' Follow Up Report
18th September 2023
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Scottish Parliament Pre-Budget Scrutiny
18th September 2023
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HMIPS Annual Report 2021-2022
18th September 2023
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HMIPS Strategic Plan 2022-2025
18th September 2023
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HMP Shotts: Full Prison Inspection
18th September 2023
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Court Backlog Modelling
18th September 2023
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Scottish Prison Population Health Needs Report
18th September 2023
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The New Women's Prison Estate in Scotland
18th September 2023
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Recorded Crime in Scotland 2021-2022
18th September 2023
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Scottish Sentencing Council Reports
18th September 2023
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Mental Health Support in Scotland's Prisons 2021: Under-Served and Under-Resourced
18th September 2023
2022
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Judged on Progress: the Need for Urgent Delivery on Scottish Justice Sector Reforms
21st April 2022
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Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 Implemented
21st April 2022
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Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison Custody
21st April 2022
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Scottish Sentencing Council: Guideline on the Sentencing of Young People
21st April 2022
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HMIPS Annual Report 2020-2021
21st April 2022
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HMIPS Health and Well-Being Pre-Inspection Survey
21st April 2022
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Scottish Sentencing Council Report: Judicial Perspectives on Community-Based Disposals
21st April 2022
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Reconviction Statistics: 2019-19 Offender Cohort
21st April 2022
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Recorded Crime in Scotland 2020-2021
21st April 2022
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HMIPS Liaison Visit to HMP Greenock
21st April 2022
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HMIPS Liaison Visit to HMP Castle Huntly
21st April 2022
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Audit Scotland: Community Justice Sustainable Alternatives to Custody
21st April 2022
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Mental Welfare Commission Report: Women and Mental Ill-Health
21st April 2022
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Membership of the new Scottish Parliament Criminal Justice Committee Announced
21st April 2022
2021
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The Scandal of Remand in Scotland: A Report by Howard League Scotland – May 2021
21st May 2021
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An Urgent Plea from Howard League Scotland Committee
21st April 2021
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Expert Review of Mental Health Support For Young People Entering And In Custody At HMP&YOI Polmont - Final Progress Update
15th April 2021
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Extended Presumption Against Short Sentences Monitoring Information: January – December 2020
15th April 2021
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Scottish Crime & Justice Survey 2019-20
15th April 2021
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Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics: 2019 -20
15th April 2021
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HMIPS Liaison Visit to HMP/YOI Grampian
15th April 2021
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Review of Forensic Mental Health Services in Scotland Final Report
15th April 2021
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The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Rules
15th April 2021
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Covid19 Court Restrictions Extended
15th April 2021
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The Community Orders (Coronavirus)(Scotland) Regulations 2021
15th April 2021
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The Restorative Justice (Prescribed Persons) (Scotland) Order 2021
15th April 2021
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Allan Marshall FAI Recommendations
15th April 2021
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The Parole Board (Scotland) Amendment Rules 2021
15th April 2021
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Effects of New Covid19 Variant
15th April 2021
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Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) Criminal Case Throughput Data
15th April 2021
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Council of Europe's European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Report
15th April 2021
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Reconviction Rates in Scotland: 2017-18 Offender Cohort
15th April 2021
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Justice Committee Evidence Session - Covid19 Effects on Criminal Justice System
15th April 2021
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HMIPS Liaison Visit to HMP Kilmarnock
15th April 2021
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Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act - Electronic Monitoring
15th April 2021
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Outstanding Unpaid Work (Community Payback Orders)
14th April 2021
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HMP Dumfries Full Inspection
14th April 2021
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New European Prison Rules
14th April 2021
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Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2019 - 2020
14th April 2021
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HMIPS First Liaison Visit to HMP Addiewell
14th April 2021
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HMIPS First Liaison Visit to HMP Edinburgh
14th April 2021
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Disclosure (Scotland) Act
14th April 2021
2020
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HMIPS: Remote Monitoring and Liaison Visits
16th November 2020
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Virtual Visits and Mobile Phones in Scottish Prisons
16th November 2020
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SPS Covid19 Route Map
16th November 2020
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Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2018-19
16th November 2020
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HMIPS Inspection of HMP Edinburgh
16th November 2020
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Jackie Tombs – A Note of Appreciation
20th August 2020
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Three Keys to Unlocking the Problem of Prisons in a Pandemic
25th June 2020
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‘Prisoner householding’: the latest threat from Covid-19
29th April 2020
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COVID-19 in Scottish Prisons: Update #1
30th March 2020
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COVID-19 in Scottish Prisons
30th March 2020
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Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representations) Bill Passed
30th March 2020
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Disclosure (Scotland) Bill Report
23rd March 2020
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Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act
23rd March 2020
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Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representations) Bill Report
23rd March 2020
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Independent Review of the Handling of Deaths in Custody
23rd March 2020
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Evidence to Education and Skills Committee: Disclosure (Scotland) Bill
23rd March 2020
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HMP Glenochil Full Inspection
23rd March 2020
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Council of Europe's European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
23rd March 2020
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Pre-Budget Scrutiny
11th February 2020
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Throughcare Service Provision Announcement
11th February 2020
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Recorded Crime in Scotland: 2018-2019
11th February 2020
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Evidence to Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee: Prisoner Voting
11th February 2020
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Audit Scotland audit of SPS
11th February 2020
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Scottish Government - Programme for Government 2019/20
11th February 2020
2019
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HMIPS Annual Report 2018-19
5th November 2019
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Fatal Accident Inquiry - Allan Marshall (HMP Edinburgh)
5th November 2019
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Franchise Extended to Prisoners to Vote in the Shetland By-Election
5th November 2019
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Suspension of SPS Throughcare Support Service
25th July 2019
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Management of Offenders (Scotland) Bill
1st July 2019
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Presumption Against Short Sentences (PASS)
28th June 2019
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UN Committee Against Torture - Key Concerns
11th March 2019
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New Strapline Brief
28th January 2019