The annual average cost of keeping a convicted criminal in Scotland’s jails has soared to nearly £50,000.
New figures reveal that costs of each inmate in Scotland’s prisons has soared by 26 per cent since 2016.
In 2023/24, the average cost per prisoner place was £47,140, or £129 per day, which was up from £37,334, or £102 per day, in 2016/17.
Scotland’s average daily prison population was 7,860 last year, with those on remand accounting for 23 per cent of the total.
Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Liam McArthur said: ‘Scotland’s prisons are not serving prisoners, prison staff or the wider community well. Far too many prisoners are on remand, violent assaults are commonplace and cells are bursting at the seams.
‘We know that remand is severely disruptive to employment and the type of family links that are so important if we are to break the cycle of reoffending.
‘These figures also show that it’s incredibly expensive too.’
The soaring costs come amid growing concerns over overcrowded jails, which has led to SNP ministers announcing controversial plans to release hundreds of prisoners early.
The first inmates will be freed from February 18, with the early release programme ending on March 20.
It is estimated that between 260 and 390 inmates, including violent and dangerous offenders, will be released early.
Scottish Conservative victims and community safety spokesman Sharon Dowey said: ‘The staggering costs in relation to Scotland’s prisoners are symptomatic of a justice system in crisis.
‘The SNP have completely failed to tackle growing court backlogs, which means jails are full of offenders awaiting trial or full sentencing.
‘Nationalist ministers’ only answer to this self-inflicted crisis has been to release hundreds of dangerous prisoners early because they have failed to invest in our prison estate.
‘They must have a drastic rethink on how to tackle overcrowding and ensure the cost of keeping prisoners delivers value for money for taxpayers.’
Some 477 prisoners were freed in an early release programme last summer, with 57 reoffending and being put back behind bars.
Justice Secretary Angela Constance has said action was necessary because jail populations have hit ‘critical’ levels.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We are committed to reduce the number of individuals on remand. The Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 (2023 Act) when in force, will seek to ensure that the use of remand is a last resort reserved for cases where public safety requires it.
‘Alternatives to remand, such as bail supervision and electronically monitored bail, are critical to support a change in how remand is used. A total of 1,300 bail supervision cases were commenced in 2023-24, the highest in the last ten years. These measures are backed by specific funding of £3.2 million to continue to support bail services in 2024-25.
‘The use of electronically monitored bail is at record levels with a 30 per cent increase in use of electronic monitoring in the last year. Section 5 of the 2023 Act allows courts to take time on electronically monitored bail into account at sentencing.’