You can now explore newly added case notes from Perth Prison’s Criminal Lunatic Department. They cover admissions from 1846–1902.
We have also released additional admission records from Perth Prison. They feature inmates admitted to the prison between 1922–1924.
These new records add to over 300,000 prison register entries available to search on Scotland’s People. You can also view over 2,000 prisoner photographs.
Prison records provide a rare glimpse into the lives of people, often in desperate circumstances, who may have left few other records behind.
They are a unique resource for family history researchers and social historians alike.
Read our tips to hone your search, and find new family connections.
Discover new details
Prison records often provide a wealth of details including an individual’s:
- age
- height
- date of admission and release
- trial and sentence details
- place of birth and nationality
- occupation
- general health
- religion
Search hints
Search by name, age, sex, year of admittance, prison, trial court or country of birth.
Start broad, then narrow down. Try searching minimal details first, then add more details if you get too many results. Use our search tools to increase your success.
Multi-page entries
Prison entries sometimes span multiple pages. Look for the "Next (paid)" button to view the complete record without additional charges.
Browse admission dates
You can now view the specific date and month of admission in the search results. This can be helpful where people had multiple admissions in one year.
Click the 'Info' link in the 'More info' column to see day, month and year of admission.
Check for aliases
Many prisoners used multiple names. Look for "YES" in the "Has alias?" column and click "More info" to see alternative names.
Unlock case notes
Browse case notes to discover more about those in Perth Prison Criminal Lunatic Department.
Identify which individuals have case notes by filtering the ‘Case notes’ column on your search results. Click twice on the ‘Case notes’ header to bring those with ‘Yes’ to the top of the results list.
Access linked records
Some individuals have both a register entry and a case note. Where available, use 'View register' and 'View case note' buttons to see connected records for the same prisoner-patient. Each entry costs 6 credits to view.
Find photographs
Some of the new records from Perth Prison’s Criminal Lunatic Department include photographs of patients. Find those with photographs by clicking twice on the ‘Has photo’ header. This will bring those with a ‘Yes’ to the top of the results list.
Religious clues
Checking a prisoner’s religion can help you trace their other life events. Before 1855, births, marriages and deaths were recorded in church registers.
If your ancestor followed the Church of Scotland, you can often find them in the Old Parish Registers. If they were of a different faith, you may need to search elsewhere.
Head to our church registers guide for more information.
The “Mac” rule
All surnames starting with "Mc", "Mac" or "M'" are indexed under "Mac" in prison records. This helps account for inconsistencies when names were recorded.