impact on offenders

Question 1

physical

Answer 1

• the number of self harm incidents in prison has skyrocketed
• figures show there were 762 incidents in 2018, compared to 532 in the previous year - a jump of 43%
• the highest number of cases was in the north east which recorded 175 cases in 2018
• there is also a growing elderly population in scotland
• 85% of elderly inmates said they were on prescribed medication and 58% said their health had deteriorated since they entered prison

Question 2

social

Answer 2

• people who have been convicted often lose support from family and friends
• there is shame and embarrassment behind this which could lead to depression
• the scotland institute estimated that 14% of all prisoners had a history of psychiatric disorder
• other data suggests that 80% of all prisoners have two or more mental health disorders

Question 3

economic

Answer 3

• offenders may suffer from unemployment as they have served time in prison
• UK statistics show that 75% of ex-prisoners do not have a job upon release
• only around one quarter of prisoners enter employment on release
• official statistics show that in 2016/17, 6% of homeless applications came from people leaving prison, hospital or care