Dumfries ( pronounced dum-freece, not dum-fries) (Dùn Phris in Scottish Gaelic) is a former royal burgh and town with a population of around http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/browser/profile.jsp?profile=Population&mainArea=Dumfries&mainLevel=Locality 31,146 (37,846 including the Locharbriggs and Cargenbridge areas). It sits close to the Solway Firth near the mouth of the River Nith in the south west of Scotland, and was the county town of the former county of Dumfriesshire.

Dumfries is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the South of Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Dumfries Prison services the courts of Dumfries and Galloway. The establishment serves as a local community prison that holds adult and under 21 male and female prisoners (segregated) who are remanded in custody for trial and those convicted but remanded for reports. Female prisoners from the Dumfries catchment area sentenced to 1 year or less remain in Dumfries while those serving over 1 year will normally transfer to Cornton Vale.