Almost 1,000 prisoners will be released early from “overcrowded” Scottish prisons in the latest round of measures to ease population numbers.
The emergency measure is being proposed as the country’s prison population was found to have reached its highest ever level, with more people behind bars now than at any time on record.
Justice secretary Angela Constance confirmed on Monday that an estimated 1,000 inmates will be released by April next year.
Speaking to STV’s Scotland Tonight, Constance said the prison estate is at “critical risk” due to overcrowding.
She has put forward plans for a longer release programme with an estimated 400 to 440 to be released through November and December.
There will then be a pause over Christmas and New Year before a further tranche at the end of January up to April, when another 500 to 500 inmates will be released.
Constance said getting the prison population under 8,000 would be a “step in the right direction”.
In the latest round of early releases, criminals serving sentences of less than four years and within 180 days of their original legal release date could be considered for the scheme.
Short-term prisoners due for release within the next six months are also set to be let out early under the emergency proposals.
However, prison governors will be handed veto powers if they believe a prisoner poses an immediate risk to specific individuals or groups.
Criminals jailed over sexual offences and domestic abuse, as well as any registered sex offenders, will be barred from the release plan.
The justice secretary also plans to bring forward secondary legislation to allow prisoners “liable to removal from the UK” to be released early, with this due to happen after Holyrood’s October recess.
The plan comes as Scotland’s prison population reached its highest ever level, with more people behind bars now than at any time on record.
The number of individuals in custody has been rising steadily for months and hit 8,430 on October 21, surpassing the previous record of 8,420 set in 2012.
Scotland’s prisons were designed to hold 7,805 inmates, meaning they are now accommodating more than 600 additional people.
‘Long-term solution needed to tackle overcrowding’
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, Sara Snell, said while the latest wave of releases was “necessary to reduce the immediate pressure” inside institutions, it would not provide a long-term solution.
She told how Scotland’s prison system is currently “struggling to cope with the number of prisoners it is now being asked to accommodate”.
She added: “We see the further planned early release in November as necessary to reduce the immediate pressure in Scottish prisons today, but it does not address any of the root causes of the problems.”
“There are no quick or easy answers to the challenge of a prison system where overcrowding has become deeply entrenched,” Ms Snell added.
“It is vital that longer-term solutions are adopted swiftly to avoid more short-term options being resorted to and because long-term systemic change takes time to take effect.”
Ms Snell previously warned that Scotland’s prisons are becoming “human warehouses” due to the ongoing overcrowding crisis.
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland said further release is necessary to address the “paralysing” issue of overcrowding, which is affecting every aspect of prison life, including complying with core human rights such as access to fresh air.
An inspection from HMP Barlinnie in November 2024 found that prisoners were not provided with daily showers.
Overcrowding has also been found to be hindering access to work, education and positive activities, meaning the transformation of person-focused support is lost.
This, in turn, is impacting prisoners integrating successfully on release and staying away from crime, and turning prisons into “human warehouses”, the inspector said.
The new early release scheme is subject to Parliament’s approval.
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