Nearly 500 prisoners released early in Scotland since July amid overcrowding crisis

Nearly 500 people have been released early from Scotland’s prisons since June in an attempt to tackle the country’s overcrowding crisis.

The Scottish Government said on Wednesday that 477 inmates were let go early since the policy was introduced.

It comes after a spike in inmates and concerns that the capacity of the prison estate is at “critical risk”.

MSPs passed the emergency measure just before the summer after the number of prisoners shot up by 13% since the start of 2023.

Justice secretary Angela Constance said “immediate and urgent action” was needed to tackle the issue.

Justice secretary Angela Constance said the Scottish Government is tackling the overcrowding crisis in Scotland's prisons. — Justice secretary Angela Constance said the Scottish Government is tackling the overcrowding crisis in Scotland’s prisons. STV News

The Government confirmed the release numbers on the same day Constance was visiting the new HMP Highland in Inverness on Wednesday.

The prison is expected to cost around £209m – four times as much as initially expected – after suffering delays and will replace the current Victorian building itself had overcrowding issues.

The Scottish Government said an unprecedented rise in the number of inmates has seen the prison population balloon to 8,294 – above the target operating capacity of 8,007.

Ministers said only prisoners serving short sentences of under four years who have 180 days or less left to serve will be considered for release,

Prisoners such as those given a life sentence, or serving a sentence for sexual offences or domestic abuse, will be automatically excluded.

And prison governors will have the power to veto the release of any prisoner they deem an immediate risk to a specific individual or group.

The head of prison inspections in Scotland warned earlier this month that overcrowding remains a “serious concern” and is holding back the successful rehabilitation of offenders.

Prisons south of the border have also been hit with overcrowding issues with reports suggesting there are just 100 spaces left in men’s prisons in England and Wales.

On Friday magistrates were told to delay jailing criminals as the number of people in prison hit a new weekly high.

That prison population then stood at 88,234, the highest end-of-week number since weekly data was first published in 2011.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “In line with our commitment to openness and transparency we published figures for the number of individuals released through Emergency Early Release in July.”