Statistics released today by the Scottish Government regarding the national prison population show a growing proportion of sex offenders amongst Scotland’s prison population.
According to the figures, there was a 100% increase in sex offenders as a proportion of all prisoners between 2009 and 2020. A decade ago, just 8% of all prisoners were serving a custodial sentence for sexual offences such as rape or sexual assault. However, this figure now sits at 16%, as of 2020.
This substantial increase has been driven, in part, by a sharp increase in prisoners serving custodial sentences for rape and attempted rape. The incarceration rate for these offences has almost trebled in the past 11 years.
This increase in the overall percentage of prisoners seems isolated to males. Statistics show that only 1% of female inmates are currently imprisoned for sexual offences, despite a larger proportion of women serving sentences for violent offences, overall.
The Scottish Government has yet to respond to the figures.