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The National
01-05-2025
- The National
Scottish prison deaths are far too high
Good evening! This week's edition of the In Common newsletter comes from Kaitlin Dryburgh, policy and communication director at Common Weal. To receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every week click here. THE Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) has found that deaths in Scottish prisons have risen to among the highest in Europe. From 40 in 2023 to 64 in 2024, with some of the most common reasons stated as health conditions, suicide and drug-related causes. Furthermore, the SCCJR found that the overall number of people who died while in custody or in the care of the state in 2024 was a staggering 244 people. While a Fatal Accident Inquiry is automatically provided for those who died while in prison or police custody, those who died under different custody circumstances or care of the state are not provided the same right. Which unfortunately means that we won't know how the majority of those passed away or if the state was to some extent responsible. This embarrassing finding is another example of how Scotland's prison estate is one of the worst in Europe, in so many different ways. Although we are set to build and replace the current Barlinnie prison in Glasgow, this just goes to show our under-funded prison estate is not capable of either rehabilitation or offering a safe place. The structures already in place are not working, and what that means is more people will die. The centre also found that sadly 16 children and young persons died while in the care of the state, including a person with disabilities residing in a hospital. Scotland has previously been scrutinised for its high number of young people dying while in the youth estate and a few high-profile cases in the media have highlighted the need for change. READ MORE: Aberdeen locals react to Michael Gove choosing 'Lord of Torry' title A report published at the start of the year found that the suicides of two youths at Polmont Young Offenders Institution (below) could have been avoided. Due to the nature of Fatal Accident Inquiries, no-one at a prison can be found criminally responsible for death of a person in their custody. So it is no surprise that recommendations made to the Scottish Government are slow to be implemented when there is little pressure from anywhere to see it through. Radical reform is needed in the prison estate if we are to improve and increase rehabilitation, provide people with a better standard of living on the outside, deliver true justice and actually help people. However, at the very least we should be keeping people alive. Prison should not be a death sentence. The data shows that those with mental health issues are more likely to die in custody. The suicide rate for those on remand in prison is untenably high, and yet our remand population is one of the highest in Europe, once again. There are two options that the Scottish Government can start putting in motion right now. No need to wait on another consultation or research, there is enough evidence out there to show the current model is a waste of time and ineffective. Either they enact a prison model that bears more resemblance to Norway, which emphasises rehabilitation and alternatives to the usual prison establishments. Looking at placements that remove troubled people from their usual tumultuous environments and give them stability, teaching them life skills that they've not had access to. With accountability and responsibility at the core of these environments, while treating crime as a public health issue. Something that isn't present currently. Or, they build bigger and better prisons that allow prison officers to offer better care so that we don't have another large increase of people dying while in the care of the state, and have a more streamlined healthcare and mental health service available in prisons. However, considering the high rate at which we throw people in prison, building bigger prisons should not be seen as an incentive to fill them, and more out-of-prison alternatives must be invested in. Either way, this is not the option that will enact the most positive change, but if that's what's needed to keep more people alive, so be it. READ MORE: St Andrews rector wins appeal after dismissal over Gaza comments Lastly, the prison officers and personnel that keep these prisons ticking over should stop being overlooked. Not unlike other public services, the bureaucracy and top-heavy management structure is producing an at-times demotivated workforce that should be more valued, listened to and trusted to make decisions concerning the people they interact with. What the findings from the SCCJR prove is once again we have one of the worst prison estates in Europe, one that is in desperate need of reform. We do not have the death penalty in this country for a reason; going to prison should not increase the likelihood of dying. Furthermore, if we want to explore a different way and do better, we must know how people are dying. Therefore, a Fatal Accident Inquiry is essential when anyone in custody or in the care of state passes away, no exceptions.
The National
24-04-2025
- Business
- The National
This is the model Scotland must adopt to improve all our lives
Good evening! This week's edition of the In Common newsletter comes from Professor Iain Black, Strathclyde Business School and Common Weal board member. To receive the newsletter direct to your inbox every week click here. AS I write this, the Scottish Government has announced it is pulling back on another action aimed at reaching climate targets – its target to reduce road traffic by 20% by 2030. Eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, tackling the climate crisis, improving public services – all have been promised, none have been planned for. The Scottish Government's action means many will remain tied to increasingly expensive and polluting cars which damage health and extract wealth and hand it to global corporations. Our SMEs and remaining large companies are struggling under Trump tariffs and households are about to get a higher energy bill because the price of electricity remains tied to the price of gas. What plans or priorities, politicians or parties are giving you hope? (Image: Andrew Milligan) To create hope, your plan or alternative must achieve three things: it must feel important, be 'goal-congruent' (it must do what you say it does) and it must feel possible. Do John Swinney's plans to grow the economy and produce tax revenue feel important or match your priorities when you are hungry and cold? Does it seem possible to reduce the number of children living in poverty when, after 20 years in which our GDP has doubled and tax revenue has increased, child poverty rates have remained broadly unchanged? So what might give us hope? Something based on rigorous research and observation over decades? Something tried, tested and successful in a previous time of great crises? An approach to government called 'National Mission Oriented Market Making' may be a mouthful but it fits that bill. (Image: Karol Serewis/Gallo) National mission-oriented market making is a strategic and interventionist approach to market creation and maintenance based on the work of Professor Mariana Mazzucato (above). Here, governments recognise their capacity to structure economic activity to address persistent, intensifying and multiplying environmental and social crises – and they do something about it. They adopt a crisis orientation and direct national assets from private, public and third sectors to develop markets and structures required to address agreed national missions. This involves managing collaborations for the design, supply, manufacturing, construction, maintenance, remanufacturing and recycling of products needed to address persistent crises. In Scotland, these missions could be based on their capacity to address three interlinked crises: the climate emergency, the fossil fuel cost of living crisis and the Scottish Government's relationship with business. They would link to needs we all share: warmth, safety, shelter, sustenance, mobility, meaningful work, sense of purpose, community and socialising. This could translate into three big missions. First, everyone must benefit from Scotland's energy. We would focus on becoming a nation of 'prosumers' where our buildings, based on a fabric-first approach, are warm and have low running costs. Excess energy is stored and used when needed. We would need a national insulation and retrofit company and national public energy agency to co-ordinate and deliver at scale. Second, there must be enough good food for everyone. The mission would be to provide nutritious, tasty, healthy and affordable food. Professor Tim Jackson in his recent book estimates that it would cost the UK less to make such food available for free than it costs the NHS to treat the outcomes of our ultra-high-processed diets. Third, access for all to active and low carbon travel. We would just need to go to cities like Lund in Sweden to see what this looks and feels like. Achieving this through safe, clean, reliable and cheap public transport and the ability to walk or wheel to our work and places of play could free us from the monthly cost of a car. We'd need a national transport agency controlling construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure. Delivery of the missions is by SMEs and investment is de-risked by guaranteeing long-term support for strategically important markets. National bodies, overseen by citizen assemblies, invest in and own infrastructure and ruthlessly focus on providing a supportive, consistent regulatory environment. This approach rejects the approach of the past 40 years where governments avoid intervening in markets where possible. Instead, the model followed is war-time prioritisation and mobilisation. It is the approach behind how the US was reorganised after Pearl Harbour so it was able to launch 2710 Liberty cargo ships in less than four years, from 18 yards at a top rate of two every three days. All achieved while bringing women into the workforce and improving industrial democracy. (Image: Newsquest) Professor Ailsa Henderson (above) reports this week that the majority of voters in England describe themselves as 'angry' or 'fearful' of politics. While not conducted in Scotland, I suspect the results are generalisable. She went on to say: 'English politics is marked by continued grievance, frustration and anger rather than hope.' Can we honestly say that more focus on growth and more dialling back on climate actions gives us hope? Can we expect more extractive growth funded by the Scottish National Investment Bank to give us hope? Or can we look to what has worked in the past and set ourselves national missions where everyone benefits from a decent warm home, good food and low-cost stress-free mobility? Important, goal congruent and possible.
