Sustainable action to tackle rising prison population

Emergency legislation will be introduced to Parliament to contribute to the sustainable long-term management of Scotland’s prison population, Justice Secretary Angela Constance told MSPs.

The Bill, to be introduced in November, will propose a change to the release point for short-term prisoners serving sentences of less than four years. At present they are released at the halfway point of their sentence. Under these new proposals they will be released after serving 40% of their sentence, with prisoners serving sentences for domestic abuse or sexual offences excluded from the changes.

The Justice Secretary said the wellbeing of victims and the safety of communities will be a priority when implementing the measures, and the Scottish Government will engage directly with victims organisations.

The proposals, scheduled to come into effect from February next year, would apply to both those currently in prison and those sentenced in future. If backed by Parliament, it is estimated the changes could result in a sustained reduction to the prison population of between 260 and 390.

The proposals in the legislation would also give Ministers powers to change the point of release under licence conditions for long-term prisoners serving sentences of four years or more. This follows the recent public consultation on long-term prisoner release, which highlighted various areas requiring more in-depth consideration with partners.

While not currently proposed, contingency planning for the emergency early release of short-term prisoners is being undertaken, should it be needed to ensure the health and welfare of prison staff and prisoners during a continuing rise in the prison population.

In her Parliamentary statement, Ms Constance underlined the importance of public safety and putting in place a sustainable long-term strategy to tackle the rising prison population.

Speaking after delivering her statement, the Justice Secretary said:

“I am prioritising actions that can deliver a sustained reduction to the prison population. Public safety remains paramount, which is why I am focusing on short-term prisoners only and with built-in exemptions.

“I recognise the concerns that may arise from victims and their families and I am committed to working closely with victim support organisations on key issues.

“The measures I have outlined are necessary to support prisons to continue to function effectively and I remain grateful to Scottish Prison Service staff for their continued resilience. We must ensure that we have a prison estate which houses those who pose a risk to the public and provides the full range of support needed for people to leave on a better path and never turn back.”

These prison management measures follow yesterday’s announcement that victims of crime will receive improved support, advice and information under reforms to the Victim Notification Scheme that entitles victims or close relatives of homicide victims to certain information about the person responsible for the crime.

Background

Justice Secretary's statement to parliament

Prison population information note

Latest prison population figure - 8,322 as of Thursday 10 October

Long-term prisoner release consultation and analysis

The arrangements announced in Parliament build on a range of other measures already taken to deal with the high prison population, including strengthening the availability of community-based sentences, which figures indicate can be more effective in reducing re-offending among those who have committed less serious offences.

These measures include:

• increased Scottish Government funding for community justice, up by £14 million in 2024-25, to £148 million in total

• to address high numbers of individuals in prison on remand, for example ahead of trial or pre-sentence, introducing electronically-monitored bail, with the expansion of bail supervision to all areas. Usage of bail supervision is now at record levels

• implementing measures in early July 2024 to enable courts to take into account time spent on electronically-monitored bail when sentencing, as Parliament legislated for in the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023