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4. Commentary
Prison population
Total average daily population
In 2006/07, the average daily population in Scottish prisons totalled 7,183, an increase of 5 per cent when compared with the 2005/06 figure of 6,857, and the highest annual level ever recorded ( Table 1). Chart 1 (on the front page) shows the change in the average daily prison population in Scotland since the beginning of the 20 th century. It shows noticeable slumps during the 1 st and 2 nd world wars, followed by a massive increase (303 per cent) from 1,781 in 1950 to 7,183 in 2006/07.
Over the ten year period, 1997/98 - 2006/07, the average daily prison population has increased by 19 per cent. In the same ten year period the female prison population has increased by 90 per cent; over five times the growth experienced in the male prison population (16 per cent). The 2006/07 female prison population was 353, an increase from 334 in 2005/06.
Remand population
The average daily remand population in 2006/07 was 1,567 (1,466 males and 101 females), a substantial increase of 26 per cent compared to the 2005/06 figure of 1,242 ( Table 3) and the highest remand population ever recorded. Young offender remand numbers increased by 27 per cent to 361 in 2006/07, from 284 in 2005/06. Adult remand numbers also increased by 26 per cent to 1,206 in 2006/07, compared to 958 in 2005/06.
Looking at differences between types of remand, the average daily population of untried prisoners increased by 29 per cent to 1,325 in 2006/07 from 1,025 in 2005/06, while the average daily population of those prisoners who were convicted awaiting sentence increased by 12 per cent to 242 in 2006/07 from 217 in 2005/06.
Chart 2 Average daily prison population, by category of prisoner
Chart 2 shows a 14 per cent increase in the adult sentenced prison population over the last ten years. However, the under 21 sentenced population decreased by 28 per cent between 1997/98 and 2004/05, from 773 to 560, before increasing again to reach 645 in 2006/07.
Fine default population
Although fine defaulters make up a large proportion of prison receptions, they represent only a very small proportion of the average daily prison population because they spend only a short time in prison. In 2006/07, the average daily population of fine defaulters was 46, a decrease of 13 per cent compared to 53 in 2005/06 ( Table 1).
Sentenced population
The average population of sentenced young offenders (excluding fine defaulters) was 640 in 2006/07, an increase of 3 per cent compared with the 2005/06 figure of 619 ( Table 4). The number of male sentenced young offenders increased to 614 in 2006/07 from 601 in 2005/06 and the number of female sentenced young offenders increased to 30 in 2006/07 from 24 in 2005/06.
The average daily adult sentenced population was 4,970 in 2006/07, a slight decrease from the 2005/06 figure of 4,989 ( Table 5). There was an increase of 27 per cent in the average number of adult prisoners serving sentences of less than 3 months (to 112 in 2006/07 from 88 in 2005/06). The average daily adult population serving sentences of between 6 months and 2 years decreased by 6 per cent to 918 in 2006/07 from 973 in 2005/06. The number of prisoners serving sentences of 2 years and over but less than 4 years increased by 6 per cent to 820 in 2006/07 from 770 in 2005/06.
The number of long-term adult prisoners, those sentenced to 4 years or more (including life sentences and recalls), decreased by 1 per cent to 2,693 in 2006/07, from 2,724 in 2005/06.
The average daily population of prisoners recalled from supervision or licence has continued to rise, increasing by 30 per cent to 519 in 2006/07, from 400 in 2005/06 ( Table 1).
Population on 30 June 2006
On 30 June 2006, there were 7,205 prisoners in total, 6,820 males and 385 females. Just under half of the prisoners were aged between 25 and 39 ( Table 6). This age distribution is similar to that in 2005.
On 30 June 2006, ethnic minority groups represented 3 per cent (205 prisoners) of the total prison population (including persons awaiting deportation) ( Table 7). The proportion of ethnic minorities in the Scottish population as a whole is around 2 per cent (according to the 2001 Census).
On 30 June 2006, 65 per cent (4,662) of prisoners gave Christian or a Christian denomination as their religion ( Table 8). 122 prisoners (1.7 per cent) specified Muslim as their religion. 32 per cent of prisoners were recorded as having no religion.
On 30 June 2006, 8 per cent of all prisoners were given a supervision level of 'High', 57 per cent had a supervision level of 'Medium' and the remaining 34 per cent had a 'Low' supervision level ( Table 9).
39 per cent of the sentenced population on 30 June 2006 were detained for serious crimes of violence ( Table 10). Chart 3 shows that on 30 June 2006, serious assault and attempted murder was the main crime for 17 per cent of sentenced prisoners, homicide accounted for a further 14 per cent and drugs for another 15 per cent.
Chart 3 Sentenced prison population by selected main crime on 30 June 2006
All but one of those sentenced for crimes of indecency were male. The largest groups of sentenced male prisoners detained on 30 June 2006 for a specific crime were those convicted of homicide, serious assault or drugs offences. The largest group of female prisoners were those detained for drugs offences, with the group convicted specifically for serious assault as the next largest group.
Population by Community Justice Authority and Local Authority Area on 30 June 2006
On the 30 th June 2006, 22 per cent of prisoners (1,569) were from the Glasgow CJA region (see Note 15 of Annex for more details on CJA). This consisted of 22% of all male prisoners and 17% of female prisoners. However only 11 per cent of Scotland's population (calculated using the 2006 mid year population estimates) live in the Glasgow CJA region ( Table 11).
Prisoners who were homeless or who did not supply any home address details are classified as having no fixed abode and cannot be matched to a CJA or LA. 53 per cent of prisoners with no fixed abode were sentenced to 4 years or over, life or they were recalled from supervision ( Table 12).
Prisoners for the Glasgow CJA area made up 23 per cent of remand prisoners, 23 per cent of those sentenced to less than 6 months, 22 per cent of those sentenced to 4 years or over and 28 per cent of those sentenced to life ( Table 12).
Liberations by Community Justice Authority
In 2006/07, 20,506 adults and 4,751 young offenders were liberated from prison ( Table 13 and Table 14). 21 per cent of adult liberations and 19 per cent of young offender liberations were for prisoners with a home address in the Glasgow Community Justice Authority area.
Adult prisoners liberated on remand made up 39 per cent (7,974) of all adult liberations in 2006/07. Liberations of adults sentenced to less than 4 years made up 42 per cent (8,545) and fine default liberations made up a further 15 per cent (3,156).
Releases on Home Detention Curfew
Release on Home Detention Curfew ( HDC) for low risk prisoners nearing the end of their sentence was started in July 2006. Since then the average daily population of prisoners in the community under this scheme has increased, from 92 in July 2006 to a high of 303 in December 2006, before decreasing slightly to 266 in March 2007, the most recent month for which figures are available. The March 2007 HDC population consisted of 234 males and 32 females, 230 adults and 36 young offenders.
The total number of releases under the HDC scheme from its start date of 3 July 2006 to 31 March 2007 was 1,270, of which 235 (19 per cent) were recalled to custody ( Table 15).
Receptions
Receptions by sentence type
Remand receptions increased to 23,181 in 2006/07 from 19,593 in 2005/06 ( Table 16).
The total number of sentenced receptions (including direct sentenced, fine default and recalls from supervision/licence) increased by 5 per cent to 20,403 in 2006/07, from 19,477 in 2005/06. Direct sentenced receptions had an increase of 8 per cent with 13,970 direct sentences in 2006/07 compared to 12,916 in 2005/06. However, there was a decrease in fine default receptions by 4 per cent to 5,963 in 2006/07, from 6,213 in 2005/06.
Chart 4 Prison receptions by sentence type, 1997/98-2006/07
Chart 4 above shows that the number of remand receptions increased by 18 per cent between 2005/06 and 2006/07, the largest increase since 2001/02 to 2002/03 (22 per cent) whilst fine default receptions have declined by 3,382 (36 per cent) over the last 10 years.
In 2006/07, the number of receptions relating to individuals sentenced in the High Court was 880, which represented a 4 per cent increase on the 2005/06 figure of 849 ( Table 17). From the Sheriff Court (under solemn and summary procedure) the number of receptions was 16,089 and from the District and Stipendiary Magistrate Courts the number was 2,867. These figures represent 4 per cent, 81 per cent and 14 per cent of all sentenced receptions respectively, a very similar distribution to 2005/06. The number of sentenced receptions emanating from District and Stipendiary Courts increased by 3 per cent from those in 2005/06, whilst Sheriff Court receptions increased by 4 per cent.
Direct sentenced receptions
Adult direct sentenced receptions increased by 9 per cent to 11,684 in 2006/07, from 10,746 in 2005/06 ( Table 25). Young offender direct sentenced receptions increased by 5 per cent to 2,286 in 2006/07, from 2,170 in 2005/06 ( Table 21).
In 2006/07, the average sentence lengths for young offenders ranged from 119 days for breach of the peace to 562 days for robbery, and 692 days for serious assault and attempted murder ( Table 24). Of all young offender direct sentenced receptions, 11 per cent sentenced for serious assault and attempted murder and 3 per cent sentenced for robbery were sentenced for 4 years or over.
Among the more common crimes and offences, the average sentence length imposed for determinate direct sentenced receptions of adults in 2006/07 ranged from 97 days for breach of the peace to 926 days for robbery ( Table 28). 11 per cent of adult direct sentenced receptions for drug offences were for sentences of 4 years or more; only those sentenced for robbery and serious assault and attempted murder had a higher proportion of such long sentences (18 per cent and 21 per cent respectively).
Fine default receptions
The number of adult fine default receptions decreased to 5,265 in 2006/07, down 3 per cent from 5,442 in 2005/06. The average length of fine default sentences imposed on adults in 2006/07 was 11 days, which exhibited little change from the average since 1997/98 ( Table 34).
Young offender receptions for fine default decreased by 9 per cent to 698 in 2006/07 from 771 in 2005/06. The average length of fine default sentences imposed on young offenders in 2006/07 was 10 days, which exhibited little change from the average since 1997/98 ( Table 31).
The average fine outstanding for young offenders in 2006/07 was £262, a 2 per cent decrease on the 2005/06 figure of £268 ( Table 32). The average fine outstanding for male young offenders in 2006/07 was £265 and the average fine outstanding for female young offenders in 2006/07 was £209.
The average fine outstanding for adult offenders in 2006/07 was £279 virtually unchanged from 2005/06 ( Table 35). Chart 5 shows that adult fine default receptions are largely due to outstanding fines of between £200 and £500 (42 per cent of all fine defaulters) and only 2 per cent have fines outstanding of £1,000 or more. The average fine outstanding for adult males in 2006/07 was £281 and the average fine outstanding for adult females in 2006/07 was £254.
Chart 5 Adult fine default receptions by amount of fine outstanding, 2006/07
Children on unruly certificates
The number of unruly certificates received in 2006/07 was 33 compared with 28 in 2005/06. 30 unruly certificates were related to males ( Table 18) and 3 to females.
In 2006/07, 15 year olds made up the majority of children held on unruly certificates. During 2006/07, 8 unruly certificates were received regarding fourteen year olds, 19 certificates were received in respect of fifteen year olds, 5 certificate for sixteen year olds and 1 certificate for a seventeen year old.
The crimes alleged to have been committed by children held on unruly certificates ranged widely, though the most common crimes (9) were crimes of violence ( Table 19).
The average time spent in custody (before sentence, if any) was 16 days in 2006/07, a decrease from 17 days in 2005/06 ( Table 20). During 2006/07, 70 per cent of the unruly certificate receptions spent less than 14 days in custody.
Breaches of discipline and punishments
There were 19,271 breaches of discipline recorded in Scottish penal establishments in 2006/07 ( Table 36) compared to a total of 20,402 breaches in 2005/06. The most common breaches were 'disobeying a lawful order' (33 per cent of all breaches), 'possession of an unauthorised article or quantity of an article' (15 per cent), and 'fighting' (7 per cent). In response to these breaches, 29,430 punishments were awarded in total. The most commonly awarded punishments were 'stoppage/deduction from earnings or other cash' (44 per cent of all punishments), and 'forfeiture of privileges' (41 per cent).
International comparisons of prison population
In Scotland there were 141 prisoners for every 100,000 members of the general population in 2006. The rate for England and Wales was 144. Imprisonment rates varied greatly between the jurisdictions considered; from 754 per 100,000 population in USA and 603 in the Russian Federation to 62 in Japan and 65 in Slovenia ( Table 37).
Chart 6 Prison population rate per 100,000 population in 2006
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