Prisoners and people who have been arrested are still being ill-treated in many cases in Scotland, according to a watchdog set up to prevent inhuman punishment.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment carried out inspections at five police stations and five police stations across Scotland in 2018 and 2019, finding a raft of issues.
The Scottish arm of the UK's National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) - an independent body monitoring places where people are detained - has now published a review into whether agreed improvements had taken place since then.
In its report, the NPM identified "underlying systemic problems" that have prevented progress and stated that many of the concerns raised "do not appear to have been addressed fully by the Scottish Government".
A key issue is the lack of a "presumption of liberty", where removing people's freedoms should only be done as a last resort.
With police arrests, holding people beyond 24 hours - rather than a 12-hour limit as a general rule - frequently occurs, the report suggests, and people are not always told if a friend or family member has been informed of their arrest or had prompt access to a lawyer.
Problems also still persist with the recording of injuries sustained in custody, police complaints handling and a lack of "purposeful activities" for people on remand.
The report adds: "It is apparent different groups of prisoners do not enjoy the same access to various activities. Men on remand and female prisoners held in male prisons are still highlighted as suffering the most"
A recommendation for female prisoners who suffer from severe mental health disorders to be transferred to an appropriate psychiatric facility within two weeks has also not been achieved, while there are still "significant challenges" around the availability of beds on specialist mental health wards.
It also criticised a failure of the prison service to provide information about testing of call bells and response times at HMP Barlinnie, or any update on whether outdoor shelter had been provided at prisons.
The coronavirus pandemic has also increased problems with prison overcrowding and inmates facing increased social isolation, the review found.
It stated: "As more purposeful activities are being provided in-cell, the opportunities for all prisoners to associate with others have shrunk considerably, leading to serious concerns over social isolation.
"In addition, compounded by staff shortages, overcrowding has had a significant negative effect not only on out of cell activity time and the variety of activities available during the pandemic, but also on key activities that prisoners are required to complete as a part of their individual release plans."
While the chairwoman of the NPM's Scottish sub group, Judith Robertson, acknowledged "some positive steps" had been taken by the Scottish Government, she added that the report "raises serious concerns".
She said: "We call on the Scottish Government to implement the outstanding recommendations as soon as possible, in particular taking note of the need for a concerted effort to effectively apply the presumption of liberty.
"This report is a significant step towards monitoring progress, but more work is needed by the Scottish Government to regularly monitor how these recommendations are addressed both now and in future."
