Prisoners: prison population
In 2007/08, the average daily population in Scottish prisons was 7,376, the highest annual level ever recorded. Of these, 1,560 (21%) were on remand. 7,005 (95%) were men and 371 (5%) were women (Ref: Prison Statistics Scotland 2007/08).
Over the ten year period, 1998/99–2007/08, the average daily prison population increased by 22%, with the female prison population having increased over four times (87%) that of the male population (20%) (Ref: Prison Statistics Scotland 2007/08).
Most prisoners (95%) are male, young (48% were aged < 30 years) and white (97%) (Ref: Prison Statistics Scotland 2007/08).
Many are from deprived areas. Based on data from 2003, it was estimated that each year about 1 in 9 men aged 22-24 from the most deprived 27 wards in Scotland (2.2% of all wards) will spend some time in prison (Ref: Houchin R, 2005).
50% return to custody within 2 years, with half of these returning within six months (Ref: Ash R & Bigger H, 2003).
The most common causes of imprisonment are non-sexual crimes of violence. Serious assault and attempted murder is the main crime for 16% of sentenced prisoners, homicide for 14% and drug-related crimes for a further 14% (Ref: Prison Statistics Scotland 2007/08).
Scotland has one of the highest imprisonment rates in Western Europe (137 per 100,000 population) (Ref: Prison Statistics Scotland 2007/08).