Scottish Prison Mortality Rate: Choosing Death over Life

A major new research study on the Scottish prison mortality rate has found the number of people dying in prison surged to a record number of 64 in 2024. There was a 60% increase in the previous year, making Scotland’s mortality rate among the highest in Europe.

In total, 244 people have died in Scotland while detained in custody or under the control of the state in 2024. Most of these deaths (138) occurred among those detained on mental health grounds. Nineteen were after police contact, and three were in police custody. Sixteen children and young people died in care, and three people died while detained in immigration centers. Professor Sarah Armstrong’s research made a series of worrying findings, the sharp rise in prison deaths being the most striking. On the other hand, the Scottish people are not aware of death rates.

Scottish Prison Mortality Rate: A Doubled Rate

Deaths in Scotland’s prisons have increased by 60% in the past year, a report has revealed. The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research found 64 people died in jail in 2024, up from 40 in 2023. William Brown, 16, and Katie Allan, 21, took their own lives at Polmont Young Offenders Institution.

Researchers said the Scottish prison mortality rate had more than doubled over the past decade and was now among the highest in Europe. According to the report, 17 of the deaths last year were suicides or apparent suicides. In addition, 10 were related to drugs, 27 were due to “health conditions. Nineteen were after police contacted a further three in police custody, and 16 children and young people died in care.  Three people died while detained in immigration centers, and one inpatient with learning disabilities died while living in the hospital.

Scottish Prison Mortality Rate Is a Tragedy

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) said every death in custody was “a tragedy for all those who knew and supported the individual.” The Glasgow University team said the overall level of deaths in custody last year was the highest since records in 1995. They believe the record is almost certainly the highest ever. “That rise is stunning. It’s unprecedented,” said Professor Sarah Armstrong, who led the research. The latest SPS data shows 20 deaths in custody this year so far, including seven in February alone. Six of the deaths in 2025 took place at HMP Edinburgh.

The report also said prison deaths from suicide had been rising since 2016 and may have reached a record high last year. Prof Armstrong said there were “organizational culture” issues in Scottish prisons. She believes that there needs to be a move away from treating the level of deaths as usual. Linda co-authored the report and thought that independent, timely investigations of every death are essential. The necessity is because someone is in the care of the state.

Loss of Hope as a Cause of Mortality in Scottish Prisons

The report said poor air quality, access to healthcare, extended periods locked in cells, and increased isolation could “lead to a loss of hope.” Prof Armstrong said the team identified a recurring pattern in prison deaths. It includes officers not adequately completing cell checks. Health concerns are being treated as “drug-seeking behavior,” and signs of declining mental health are “not being acted upon.”

Prof Armstrong said it was “anomalous that we have one state organization immune from prosecution.” It comes after SPS head Teresa Medhurst said the prison service should face the possibility of criminal prosecution over deaths in custody.

Poor Physical and Mental Health Raising Scottish Prison Mortality Rate

The researchers said the Scottish prison mortality rate, along with deaths by suicide, is along with numerous deaths from acute health events. Moreover, it results from conditions that are usually manageable in the community. They argued that pandemic restrictions have a sustained legacy in Scottish prisons. Meanwhile, prisons still lock many inmates in cells from late afternoon until the following morning.

The researchers concluded that such restrictions have been associated with intensifying isolation and worsening mental health. There are 30 and 40-year-olds who are dying from things like heart attacks or from diabetes or epilepsy. Prof Armstrong said these deaths are under the category of so-called natural causes deaths. She believes that technological changes and new buildings will not fix the problem. There is the matter of the human element, the organizational culture, as well as the relationships between people in prisons.

Scottish Prison Mortality Rate Similar to Azerbaijan and Moldova

The Scottish prison mortality rate has raised some worries among the authorities. The research team, led by Professor Sarah Armstrong at the University of Glasgow, made a series of worrying findings. There is a sharp rise in prison deaths, being the most striking.

Professor Armstrong said: “Last year, we reported there were 40 deaths in prisons in 2023, which has now surged to 64 in 2024. The mortality rate in our prisons has more than doubled in the last decade and is now among the highest in Europe. A look at international comparators shows that the Scottish death rates are more like those of Azerbaijan and Moldova than those of England and Wales.

No Public News: No One Knows about the Deaths

A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) is mandatory after someone dies in prison or police custody. However, most of the 244 deaths will not be subject to such an inquiry. It means that the Scottish public knows very little about who these people are and why they died. The authorities may have concealed the rate from the public.

An FAI does not hold anyone accountable for a death, even where one could be preventable. Meanwhile, a Sheriff may make ‘findings’ that identify problems or preventive factors. In around 90% of FAIs published in 2024, the Sheriff did not make any findings or recommendations. The study suggests it takes an average of 3.5 years from the date a person dies until the FAI publishes its determination. The longest, a death in police custody, took ten years.