by the size of another prison.’
Professor John Robertson OBA
According to Reporting Scotland, tonight there are 8 430 inmates in Scottish prisons and the system was ‘designed‘ to hold only 7 800, thus suggesting ‘the system is in overcapacity by the size of another prison,‘
From Audit Scotland in 2023:
SPS has advised that as at November 2023 the extended operating capacity that the prison estate can accommodate is 8,475. This is the level at which prisons go above their target operating capacity but can still provide a ‘restricted regime’. The target operating capacity, currently 8,007, is agreed between SPS and each establishment.
https://audit.scot/uploads/docs/report/2023/s22_231212_scottish_prison_service.pdf
There is no reference to a designed capacity nor to the 7 800 figure in the Audit Scotland report.
It does appear twice in the Scottish Prison Population Projections: June 2024 Edition
As shown in Figure 1, the prison population fluctuated within a range between 7,350 and 7,650 from September 2020 until late 2022. In 2023 the population grew strongly, and has remained above 7,800 since mid-July 2023. As expected, the population temporarily fell during late December and early January 2024 due to seasonal effects. It increased rapidly from 7,965 to 8,244 between 1st March and 1st May 2024.
but not as a ‘designed‘ figure.
Equally in the Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: April 2025, neither term appears at all.
It’s looking as if BBC Reporting Scotland have made this notion up just to make their claim sound right.
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Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
When it comes to ‘numbers’ expect BBC Scotland to ”verify” stats on Ferries , NHS , Prisons , etc… and come up with a story which bears no relation to actuality !
Perhaps the ”journalists ” with the BBC are using Jaikie Baillie’s abacus !
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Free up spaces in our prisons be introducing selective capital punishment and executing all the English county lines drug gang members currently clogging up the system.
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Deport them.
John H
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