New plans unveiled for early prisoner release

The prison population in Scotland has grown over the last year

The Scottish government is proposing to lower the minimum term served by prisoners who have been given short sentences.

It is predicted that between 260 and 390 inmates would be eligible for immediate release in February 2025 if the legislation is approved.

The new law would see most people serving less than four years being released after serving 40% of their sentence, rather than the current 50%.

The Scottish government says it hopes to pass the Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Bill under emergency procedures to help deal with the significant rise in the prison population over the past year.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the bill would ensure jails continued to function safely and effectively, as overcrowding could reach "critical levels" if ministers did not act.

But it would not apply to those sentenced for domestic abuse or sexual offences.

Scotland's prison population was 8,253 at the start of November – above the target operating capacity of 8,007.

Under the new plans, early releases would be managed in three stages over six weeks.

The change would also apply to new prisoners sentenced from the point the bill is introduced.

In the long term, the government said it could result in a sustained reduction of about 5% to the sentenced prison population.

The proposals replicate a change made south of the border by the UK government.

The new bill also proposes powers for ministers to change the point of release under licence conditions for people serving sentences of four years or more.

In June and July, a total of 477 people were let out early under an emergency scheme introduced by the Scottish government.

It involved prisoners who had been sentenced to less than four years in jail and who had less than 180 days still to serve.

But it was revealed in September that the prison population was already higher than it had been before the early release.

'Critical levels'

In October, the Scottish government shelved proposals for the automatic early release of long-term prisoners due to concerns from victims of crime.

At the time the justice secretary said a consultation process had revealed "significant practical difficulties" but she was still committed to considering changes to the rules for long-term prisoners.

Unveiling the proposals on Tuesday, Ms Constance said the prison population had continued to rise and was projected to reach critical levels again.

"Long-term action is necessary to deliver a sustained reduction to the prison population and support the effective functioning of prisons," she said.

“The proposals include built-in exemptions for those serving sentences for sexual offences or domestic abuse.

"We need the prison system to focus on those who pose the greatest risk to the public and provide a range of support to help reduce reoffending and integration back into the community."

Ms Constance said she recognised that victims and their families may have concerns, and that she would engage with victims’ organisations ahead of any changes.

Victim support groups have previously said that early release has been shown not to work.

The Scottish Conservatives' justice spokesman Liam Kerr said the SNP’s "knee-jerk" plans to release more prisoners early represented "a threat to public safety".

He added: “It is just common sense that a criminal should serve their sentence in full and the public will be alarmed that this out-of-touch SNP government’s approach is letting criminals out of jail even earlier instead.

“The fact that the SNP government wishes to ram this through should concern everyone”.