THE Prison Officers Association (POA) has demanded investment to tackle the “deep-seated problems” in the Scottish prison service.

Despite two waves of early release schemes over the last year, figures released by the Scottish government last month showed the average daily prison population in 2024-25 was 8,213, up from 7,856 the previous year and above the previous record of 8,198 in 2019-20.

Scotland’s prison population now stands at its highest level since records began in 1970 — when the prison population stood at 5,003 — a situation which, according to their union, has allied with a crumbling prison estate, understaffing, increasing levels of violence and drug misuse by inmates, and the growing influence of organised crime, to leave officers struggling to cope.

Acknowledging the scale of the challenge, Scottish Prison Service chief executive Teresa Medhurst told Holyrood’s criminal justice committee in November that an additional £40 million will be needed from the Scottish Budget for the service to run adequately.

Just a fortnight ahead of that budget, POA assistant secretary Phil Fairlie echoed that call for investment: “The new year offers the opportunity for a fresh start in Scotland’s prisons. We simply cannot go on as we did in 2025.

“Prison officers are on the front line of a system that is struggling to cope with rising prisoner numbers, soaring substance misuse and increasing prison violence.

“POA members are skilled professionals who want to do the rehabilitative work they are trained to do, but the crisis in our jails is preventing them from doing so.

“The POA is calling for the Scottish Budget to provide the investment required to address these deep-seated problems in the prison system.”

The Scottish government was contacted for comment.