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Legal Matters
Scotland
Ministers urged to address upward surge in prison numbers

Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, Scotland's chief inspector of prisons, has urged ministers to “urgently” reduce the numbers of people behind bars. In a letter to ministers, Sinclair-Gieben called for immediate action to stop the "current upward surge", which has seen prisoner numbers rise to the second highest level ever. Ms Sinclair-Gieben said the prison service did not have either the buildings or the resources necessary to offer all prisoners a humane rehabilitation regime. She said that indicators suggested the volume of people in custody was likely to rise further, exacerbating her concerns. Ms Sinclair-Gieben said she had been "verbally reassured" there was a strategy to address the issue but she had "never been privileged to view the planning nor have I seen any evidence of its effectiveness". It comes after MPs in England ordered the criminal justice system to delay starting the court cases of some suspects because of overcrowding in prisons. Now, Scotland's Justice Secretary Angela Constance is expected to make a statement to Holyrood later on how she plans to tackle the growing numbers.

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