Prison fights increase as other offences fall

THE number of offences committed by inmates inside Saughton Prison has fallen during the last year, new figures have shown, but the number of fights between prisoners is on the increase.

The figures from the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) showed that 1892 offences were recorded during last year compared to 2218 for 2009.

But the number of offences of “fighting with another person” climbed to 227 from 188.

During last year, the Edinburgh jail also recorded 90 instances of inmates caught taking drugs, 44 of prisoners caught smoking, and 180 of using “threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour”.

Other offences included two prisoners who were caught setting fires at the jail and 14 who were caught stealing.