Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill: island communities impact assessment

Who will the Bill affect?

Key stakeholders

Community Justice Scotland (CJS)

Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)

Scottish Prison Service (SPS)

Social Work Scotland (SWS)

Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)

Victim Support Organisations (VSOs)

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS)

Police Scotland

Information relating to island communities

At the last census (2011), a total of 93 islands in Scotland were inhabited, with a total population of 103,700 (2% of the total population of Scotland). Data from the 2022 census began to be released in late 2023 but, at the time of writing, no data was available for individual Scottish islands or areas defined by the Scottish Island Regions (2023) geography.

However, data already released from the census shows that, in 2022, the population of Scotland was estimated to be 5,436,600. Population breakdowns for local authority areas have also been released, meaning we can assess population change in island-only local authority areas. In these three local authority areas Na h-Eileanan Siar and Shetland saw a population decreases since 2011 (down 5.5% and 1.2% respectively) while the population of Orkney has grown by 3% over the same period.

According to the national statistics on recorded Crime in Scotland between 2022-23, the crime rate of the islands is generally very low. In 2022/3 there were 228, 278 and 308 crimes per 10,000 people from Orkney, Shetland and Na h-Eileanan Siar local authorities respectively (compared to the 528 crimes per 10,000 people across Scotland on average). Highland local authority and Argyll and Bute local authority, which cover a number of island communities as well as communities on the mainland, also have crime rates that are below the Scottish average (424 crimes per 10,000 people for the former and 370 crimes per 10,000 for the latter).

North Ayrshire, which includes the islands of Arran and the Cumbraes, has a crime rate closer to the average across Scotland (511 per 10,000 people).

None of the island local authorities have a prison situated on them. As with all local authorities in Scotland, they have justice social work services. A broad range of partners contribute to the achievement of community justice outcomes, including statutory partners as defined in the Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016,^[1] communities, and the third sector. Community Justice Scotland also holds a statutory duty to support and monitor the performance of each local authority area in the achievement of community justice outcomes.

There is no definitive mapping available which sets out all local and national projects that provide services within island communities. The Shetland Community Justice Plan highlights the support that is available to those released from custody, much of which is supported by volunteers.^[2] In addition, there are several national organisations which work across the whole of Scotland to provide support on release from prison custody.