Justice Social Work Statistics in Scotland: 2023-24 – Part 1

9 Pre-release reports

(Table 1)

Key statistics for 2023-24:

• There were 1,200 home leave reports produced, the 4^th lowest in ten years.
• There were 2,500 reports produced for release from prison on parole/non-parole licence, the highest in the last ten years.
• Ninety-three per cent of home leave reports were for males.
• Ninety-eight per cent of parole/non-parole reports were for males.

Part of statutory throughcare involves preparing reports. Pre-release reports is an umbrella term used solely for statistical purposes to cover:

• Home leave reports, which inform temporary release from prison on home leave, and
• Parole/non-parole reports, which inform liberation on licence.

In 2023-24, 1,200 home leave reports were produced. This was five per cent higher than in 2022-23. Numbers remained lower than in the pre-pandemic years.

A total of 2,500 reports for release from prison on parole/non-parole licence were recorded in 2023-24. This was a rise of three per cent on 2022-23. Numbers have increased every year since 2014-15.

Overall, pre-release reports from 2014-15 to 2016-17 were nearly 50:50 between home leave and parole/non-parole reports. This ratio has, however, changed substantially since then. The percentage of reports which were parole/non-parole was 69 per cent in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, with the remaining 31 per cent home leave reports.