Young offenders
Young people who are in custody are held in a Young Offenders Institution (YOI).
When a young male in Scotland aged between 16 and 21 is sentenced to a period of imprisonment or is remanded by the court, they will generally be detained in Scotland's only male Young Offenders Institution at Polmont, which is near Falkirk.
HMYOI Polmont is the national Scottish holding facility for those in the 16-to-21 year age group. In 2023, it held a maximum of 712 (Source: Polmont Prison) prisoners, making it one of the biggest young offenders institutions (YOI) in the UK. Sentences given to prisoners at HMYOI Polmont range from six months to life (before transfer to an adult prison) with the average sentence between two and four years.
Female prison in Scotland
When a young female or adult female in Scotland receives a custodial sentence, or is remanded in custody by the court, she may be held within a separate facility for women in Scotland's only female establishment, HMP and YOI Stirling.
In addition, two new womenâs Community Custody units were built in 2022, located in Dundee and Glasgow.