Record number of 999 calls from Barlinnie jail following spate of drug overdoses and assaults

Daily Record

13-05-2025

Shock new figures show that 62 ambulances were sent to Barlinnie in Glasgow between January and March this year to take seriously ill inmates to hospital.
Record numbers of 999 calls are being made from Scotland's biggest jail following a spate of drug overdoses and assaults.
Shock new figures show that 62 ambulances were sent to Barlinnie in Glasgow between January and March this year to take seriously ill inmates to hospital.
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That compares to 41 call outs in the previous three months - October to December - an increase of 51 percent.
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The figures for 2025 are also more than triple the 17 emergency calls in the first three months of 2023 and higher than the 27 made in the same period in 2022.
Their release, under Freedom of Information, follows mounting criticism of the conditions at 143 year old Barlinnie and delays over its £1billion replacement.
Many of the 999 calls are for inmates who have overdosed on smuggled drugs, including psychoactive substances known to cause violent side effects.
Others are assaults linked to prison gangland feuds such as the one between the Lyons and Daniel families.
Violence at Barlinnie has surged in the last decade, with nearly 3,000 assaults recorded since 2016, including 2,601 between inmates and 365 on staff.
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The rise in 999 callouts is also due to the growing number of older inmates with health problems, including those convicted of historical sex offences.
Yesterday the Scottish Conservatives claimed government ministers had allowed the situation at Barlinnie to spiral out of control.
Liam Kerr, the party's justice spokesperson, said: 'These staggering figures highlight the breakdown of discipline at Scotland's largest prison.
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'Hardworking, overstretched prison officers face an impossible job trying to maintain order and keep themselves and inmates safe in a dangerous environment where drug-taking is rife.
'Sustained cuts to justice budgets mean prison staff don't have the resources to tackle this crisis.'
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Barlinnie was slammed last month in a report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland Stephen Sandham.
He said the jail was in a 'wretchedly poor state' and more than 30 per cent above capacity.
Work is underway on the new 1,344-capacity HMP Glasgow at nearby Provanmill, but the cost has risen to nearly £1 billion from £100 million, with the prison not due to open until at least 2028, three years later than planned.
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Another high security jail HMP KIlmarnock in Ayrshire is also experiencing high number of 999 ambulance call outs,
There were 106 to HMP Kilmarnock in Ayrshire in 2024, compared with 32 in 2023 and just 14 in 2022.
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There were also 49 call outs in the first three-and-a half months of this year - more than triple the number for the whole of 2022.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: 'The health and wellbeing of those in our care is a key priority.
'We work with NHS partners, who are responsible for healthcare in our establishments, to ensure emergency calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service are only made when necessary and appropriate.
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'We have seen, in recent years, a steady increase in the age profile of our population, and a significant rise in individuals with complex health and social care needs.'
The Scottish Government added: 'We are increasing investment in our vital prison service by increasing the Scottish Prison Service resource budget by 10 per cent to £481.5 million in 2025/26.'
Last month The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research at Glasgow University revealed 64 people died in all Scottish jails last year - the highest on record.
Seventeen were suicides or suspected suicides, 10 were drug-related, and one was a homicide.