Scotland has one of the worst rates of overcrowded prisons in Western Europe, according to a new continent-wide survey.
The study, carried out by the Council of Europe, showed that Scotland currently has a rate of 104.3 inmates per 100 prison places. This stands high above the European average of 90.3 inmates per 100 places.
Statistics show that that overall imprisonment rate for Scotland in 2020 was 146.6 prisoners per 100,000 people. This remains far higher than the Europe-wide average of 103.2 prisoners per 100,000 people.
However, despite overcrowding fears, this continues the 10-year trend of a decreasing prison population in Scotland, which stood at a record high 150.4 inmates per 100,000 people in 2010. According to research from the University of Lausanne, this EU-wide reduction has been primarily driven by a decrease in offences such as theft and robbery and a low conviction rate for cybercrime.