Scottish prisoners released early as prisons at capacity

Scottish prisoners were released early last week in a bid to ease pressure on the Scottish prison population. Is this just another cock up by the Scottish Government?

Around 500 prisoners across the Scottish prison estate will be released in the coming weeks to ease pressure on a service which is now over capacity. Prisoners with less than 180 days left of their sentence for those serving sentences of less than four years will be eligible for early release with the exception of those convicted of sexual or domestic abuse. In May 2024, the Scottish prison population sat at 8365 prisoners against a target operating capacity of only 8007. Around this time Justice Secretary for Scotland, Angela Constance announced the measures as absolutely necessary, but organisations such as Victim Support Scotland have blasted the decision.

Kate Wallace, the chief executive of the charity Victim Support Scotland has said:

“The last time this happened, over 40% had re-offended within six months. That created more victims, and we are fully expecting that to be the case again. Victims are concerned about the risks to their own personal safety, and we are aware already of some prisoners who have been in contact with victims saying that they are going to be released, and it’s being used as a coercive control tool."

The Scottish Prison service has insisted that those who pose a risk to individuals or groups would not be released. According to the Scottish Prison Service there are several ways in which victims can find out when an offender is due for release. If victims are registered with the Victim Notification Scheme (VNS), someone from the team will call or write to inform them if a release date has changed before the offender is released. Alternatively victims are referred to a list of organisations that include Rape Crisis Scotland or Scottish Women’s Aid for help.

In addition to the emergency release of prisoners, the Scottish Government have also announced further measures to ease the pressure on the Scottish prison population:

• Funding for Community Justice schemes have increased by £14 million.

• Those on bail will be electronically tagged as an alternative to spending bail in prison.

• From July, the courts will take into account the time spent on an electronic bail tag when sentencing.

• An end to the imprisonment of under 18s.

• Considering more prisoners for compassionate release by taking into account a broader range of circumstances.

This appears to be another embarrassment for the Scottish Government with opposition parties branding the Scottish Criminal Justice system “soft on justice”. Recently the Scottish Criminal Justice system has been at the centre of controversy with the introduction of the Hate Crime Bill while the case of Isla Bryson also attracted significant attention. Isla Bryson, a transgender female, was convicted of the rape of two women and was due to be held in Cornton Vale women’s prison in Stirling. The backlash eventually saw the rapist, who committed the rapes prior to transitioning to a female, moved to a men’s jail. The situation also resulted in a change of policy that ensures newly convicted transgender prisoners will be housed in prisons according to their sex at birth. There was more embarrassment for the Scottish Criminal Justice system when an ITV News investigation found that mobile phones issued to all Scottish prisoners, at significant cost to the tax payer, were being used to deal drugs from inside prisons.

Arguably the biggest cock up of them all was in 2009 when the decision by then Scottish Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, was taken to release the Lockerbie bomber. Abdelbaset-al- Megrahi was released from Greenock prison on compassionate grounds due to having terminal cancer and supposedly only months to live. The decision was widely condemned and there was outrage from victims with Barack Obama labelling the decision as a mistake. Abdelbaset-al- Megrahi had been convicted of the 1988 bombing of PanAm flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie which killed 270 people, many of which were Americans. The most sickening of all were the scenes in Tripoli where Megrahi was given a hero’s welcome as he stepped of his flight from Glasgow a free man. He would go on to live for a further three years.

Source: BBC News