Scotland’s prison chiefs have warned overcrowding has pushed the system to the brink, leaving them only able to meet “basic legal standards”.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) say the strain of rising numbers of serious offenders and longer sentences is making it “harder to maintain safe and humane conditions”.
The warning comes despite The Scottish Government approving the emergency release of more than 1,000 prisoners since 2024, to manage the severe overcrowding crisis.
An SPS report says: “Longer prison sentences mean people stay in prison for more time, even if fewer people are being sent to prison overall.
“SPS can’t assume that the prison population will drop.
“Indeed, the prisons system in Scotland is stretched and only meeting basic legal standards.”
The crisis is clearest at Glasgow’s notorious Barlinnie jail where SPS say overcrowding has pushed its operation “beyond its safe capacity”.
The jail houses over 1400 inmates – significantly over its design capacity of 987.
SPS also warns that much “needed maintenance and replacement of services is becoming more difficult” at the crumbling Victorian age jail.
The last full HMIPS inspection report in 2019 raised significant concerns about the facility’s physical infrastructure, then warning Barlinnie was “no longer fit for purpose”.
SPS say there’s “growing urgency” to replace Barlinnie due to long-standing criticism and the “risk of legal action”, with delays beyond the 2028 date for the new HMP Glasgow “likely to attract further backlash”.
Infrastructure failures at the prison have seen inmates forced to return to manually flush toilets with buckets of tap water after a plumbing crisis crippled the facility’s water system.
Toilets in B hall at the decaying jail stopped flushing in a major systems failure, affecting around 280 inmates.
The prison’s kitchen and laundry facilities have also experienced failures due to a loss of power and steam.
SPS say breakdowns “happen occasionally as expected with a building of this age” and have a dedicated Estates team on site to resolve issues as quickly as possible.
Replacement plans
Plans to replace Barlinnie, which opened in 1882, were formally announced in March 2014 and it is finally due to be replaced by a £1billion HMP Glasgow “super jail” in 2028.
It was initially estimated to cost £100 million before ballooning tenfold to £1 billion due to delays and cost inflation.
Building work is currently underway on the 22-hectare former gas works site in Provanmill, on the city outskirts, with critics saying it is costing as much as a luxury resort in Dubai.
Designed more to resemble a college campus than a traditional prison, HMP Glasgow has ensuite cells, football pitches, tree-lined pathways, park benches and a cycle track, orchard, amphitheatre steps and owl nesting boxes.
High-level security is incorporated but in a “discreet manner” designed to be less imposing from street level.
SPS say Barlinnie had been criticised for violating human rights – “particularly due to cramped living conditions and inadequate regimes”, according to their “Full Business Case” report for HMP Glasgow,
It says: “A new facility like HMP Glasgow must be designed to properly accommodate the population and support rehabilitation, rather than continuing the cycle of overcrowding and limited opportunities.”
According to the report, the new prison design is seen as an effective response to the “growing and present issue” of numbers of serious and organised crime groups convicts, which “present a major safety issue for both the SPS and Police Scotland”.
The 21st-century replacement is a far cry from the old Barlinnie, notorious for its harsh conditions where inmates were once forced to carry out hard labour including breaking rocks from a local quarry.
It also carried out capital punishment with 10 men executed by hanging at the site between 1946 and 1960, including serial killer Peter Manuel, 31, who was hanged on 11 July 1958 for seven brutal murders.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “Our staff work very hard to ensure that any infrastructure issues are resolved quickly and with minimum impact to the establishment.
“We are replacing HMP Barlinnie with HMP Glasgow, which has been designed to deliver fit-for-purpose, safe and secure accommodation and will have a transformative impact in how we support and rehabilitate people.”
