More than 40 inmates died in Scottish prisons last year leading to renewed calls for urgent action to cut the number dying behind bars.
The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) revealed there were 42 deaths in 2022, with suicide and drugs deaths on the rise.
Figures are not yet available to confirm how many deaths involved prisoners taking their own lives but, between January and August, the deaths of 12 inmates were given as suicides.
It follows a report by researchers at Glasgow University who found more deaths in prison over the past three years than in any other three-year period on record.
The 'Still Nothing To See Here' report said 121 people died between January 2020 and September 2022 compared to 98 from 2017-19 and 76 from 2014-16. They said Covid was not the main cause of the increase in that period.
There have been at least 29 deaths by suicide and 25 from drugs since the start of 2020, with a further eight whose causes remain undetermined.
The report said that since the SPS introduced its “Talk To Me” suicide prevention strategy in 2016, suicides had actually gone up by 42 per cent, with researchers saying they compiled the report because “no Government body is doing so”.
Suicide and drug-related deaths, it said, were the “driving forces in rising levels of death”. An SPS spokesman said: “We recognise the profound emotional distress experienced by families when a loved one dies in custody.
“Our vision is for people in our care to have the best possible health and wellbeing and, where mental health problems do occur, they get respect, support, treatment and care they require.”
Researchers said suicide is the leading cause of death of women in prison based on Scottish records since 1995.
Professor Sarah Armstrong, one of the report’s lead authors, said: “We don’t have a death penalty any more in this country and yet for many people – more than 100 – going to prison is a death sentence.
“We are talking about people who are entirely dependent on the state to live. People in prison won’t get food, won’t get healthcare or shelter unless the state does its job.
"And when you have such a high rate of death in prison, real questions are raised about the quality of that care.”
Emma Jardine, policy and public affairs adviser for Howard League Scotland, said: “The SPS often refers to prisoners as ‘people in our care’, which doesn’t sit comfortably with the lack of independent oversight into the rising number of deaths in custody.”
If you’re struggling with mental health problems or suicidal thoughts you can visit www.fams.chat or call the helpline on 07736 326062.
Help is also available at www.breathingspace.scot or by calling 0800 83 85 87.
The Samaritans can be contacted 24 hours a day on 116 123.
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