SNP told early prisoner release poses public safety threat

The emergency procedures will see people serving less than four years being released after serving 40% of their sentence, rather than the current 50%. Lowering the minimum sentence in this way could see between 260 and 390 inmates eligible for immediate release in February 2025.

Justice secretary Angela Constance has insisted the measures would help with severe and ongoing prison overcrowding.  As of November 22, the prison population was 8,277, compared with an operative capacity of 8,007.

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The bill will not allow the early release of prisoners convicted of sexual or domestic violence offences.

VSS was seeking amendments to the bill to provide more public protection including an inclusion of a governor’s veto which enables prison governors to block the release of inmates they regard as "an immediate risk" to a specific individual or the wider public and measures to make victims aware of the release of certain prisoners. However, none of the amendments tabled by opposition parties relating to these safeguards were passed in the Holyrood vote.

The passage of the bill comes as new crime statistics published by the Scottish Government this week showed that offences including rape, domestic abuse and non-sexual crimes of violence all increased since 2020.

Ms Wallace said the release of prisoners in the coming weeks was particularly worrying given the rise in these offences.

“We are extremely disappointed and concerned that the bill was passed with no amendments to better protect victims of crime and safeguard the wider public," she said.

"Ministers say they are aware that victims will have concerns, but this concern is not reflected in the rushed manner in which this legislation has been passed. The speed at which the bill was introduced and then passed has not allowed for sufficient debate, scrutiny and time to formulate workable amendments.

"Recent history is going to repeat itself, with devastating consequences. Every prisoner released early represents a threat to the safety of victims and the wider public." 

She added: "The new statistics on recorded crime in Scotland make these measures even more worrying - incidents of violent crimes like rape, domestic abuse and non-sexual crimes of violence have all increased since 2020, some by as much as 20%.

“It’s crucial to remember that every one of these incidents of recorded violent crime represents a devastating impact on someone’s life. And it is some of the most serious crimes, like rape, that have seen the most significant increases - each percentage means a victim has been created and a life changed forever.

"We are particularly worried that much-needed improvements to the Victim Notification Scheme will not be in place by the time the first tranche of prisoners is released - during the last early release scheme, only 2% of victims were notified, which is clearly not good enough.

"Legislation like this erodes confidence in the justice system. Victims are very clear with us that they want to be confident that the justice system protects them and prevents others from going through what they have experienced.

"VSS will continue to provide dedicated support to people impacted by crime and encourage anybody who has been affected to contact us for free, confidential support."

The bill was passed by 67 votes to 54 at stage three on Tuesday after MSPs voted to treat it as emergency legislation, allowing the second and third stages to be passed in a single day.

An amendment from the Scottish Government aimed at ensuring the legislation covered prisoners transferred to Scotland and another forcing the Scottish Government to publish a report on the effectiveness of the Bill passed.

The bill also includes the power for ministers to change the early release point again in future through regulation – which can only be voted on in Holyrood rather than amended – despite attempts on Tuesday by opposition MSPs to amend the provision.

Ms Constance said previously the release of those impacted immediately by the changes will take place in February and would happen over three tranches within a six-week period.

Speaking in favour of the bill, she said: “Provisions within this bill allow for the prison population to be reduced at pace and for this reduction to be maintained, but I have recognised that this legislation alone cannot solve the complex issue of why we have one of the highest prison populations in western Europe.

“What it does is create vital space within our prison system now, which will be maintained.

“This will allow for the medium-term measures, such as enhanced processes for releasing home detention curfew and ongoing work to encourage more widespread use of alternatives to remand.”

She added: “We cannot ignore or tolerate the position we are currently in due to the high and complex population.”

But Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr hit out at the bill, claiming it may “threaten victims’ personal safety, jeopardise public safety, fail to deal with rehabilitation and reintegration, load pressure and cost on to councils, the third sector and all justice organisations, while costing the taxpayer a huge amount of money”.

He added: “The government wants to suggest this is about relieving a prison system bursting at the seams, but really it is about the SNP’s failure over 17 years to develop a proper holistic strategy around the justice ecosystem, to build new prisons or get the staffing and resourcing right in those that we have.”

Mr Kerr went on to criticise the lack of a “sunset clause” in the bill which would bring its provisions to an end at a specified point in time.

Labour’s Pauline McNeill said the passing of the bill was a “sad day for criminal justice” now that prisoners on short-term sentences would be released after serving only two fifths of the sentence imposed.

While she accepted high prisoner numbers had led to a “crisis” in Scotland’s jails, she said the legislation had “no governor’s veto to provide a safeguard”.

She branded the bill a “short-term fix for current problems” adding that “we do not know for how long the crisis will last, but the policy will remain”.

Ms McNeill also voiced concerns about the legislation giving powers to ministers which could “potentially radically change” the release system for longer-term prisoners, serving sentences of more than four years.

The MSP insisted “much closer scrutiny” should have been applied before such changes were made.

“I don’t accept this is the way we should do legislation in this Parliament,” Ms McNeill added.

Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur also spoke out against this, saying it would reduce the future role Holyrood would have in scrutinising such changes.

“That for me, for the Scottish Liberal Democrats is a step too far,” he said.

However Green MSP Maggie Chapman argued that reducing prisoner numbers would allow staff in jails more time to work with offenders to reduce reoffending rates.

A total 477 prisoners were freed under an emergency early release scheme in June and July in  previous bid to address overcrowding.

Some 648 short term prisoners met the criterion in terms of time served and type of sentence. But prison governors stepped in to block the release of 171 prisoners as they regarded them as presenting "an immediate risk".

Concerns over the scheme in the summer arose after the Scottish Prison Service revealed last month that 57 of those freed in June and July had returned to custody by September 18, equating to 12% of all those released.

The majority of those sent back to custody had committed non-sexual crimes of violence (35.1 per cent).