Nearly 200 violent offenders released as part of plan to tackle overcrowded Scottish prisons

Nearly 200 prisoners serving sentences for violence offences have been released as part of a Scottish Government scheme to free up space in overcrowded jails.

MSPs passed an emergency bill, which came into force in June, to address the impacts of an “unprecedented rise” in the country’s prison population.

Hundreds of prisoners who were serving a short-term sentence have so far been released in four tranches.

Figures published by the Scottish Prison Service show that of 477 released, 188 were serving a sentence for non-sexual crimes of violence.

Just over 100 were serving sentences for dishonesty while just under 100 were imprisoned for crimes against society.

People convicted of damage and reckless behaviour, anti-social offences, miscellaneous offences and road traffic offences were also among those released.

Eligibility for release was limited to those who were sentenced to less than four years and were due to be released within 180 days following June 13.

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

Prison governors were given the ability to veto the release of an individual if they believed they would pose an immediate risk of harm to an individual or group.

A total of 171 eligible prisoners were refused early release under the scheme due to a governors veto.

Of those given the go-ahead, 420 were male and 57 were female.

The majority (72) released returned to living in the Glasgow City area. North Lanarkshire had the second highest number with 40, followed by 39 in Fife and 28 in East Ayrshire.

The Scottish Government said the number of inmates had risen to 8,294 before the scheme came into force – above the target operating capacity of 8,007.

A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “We have been open and transparent in publishing the number of individuals released at each stage of the Emergency Early Release programme.

“Now, continuing this approach, we have published breakdowns showing the offence grouping; sentence length; sex; health board; and the local authorities these individuals have returned to.

“We have also published the number and percentage of eligible releases who were vetoed by governors because they were found to pose an immediate risk to individuals or groups, with the help of intelligence from police and social work.

“Further to this, we intend to publish the number of individuals who then returned to custody prior to their original liberation date, and the offence group for which they were remanded into custody.

“The safety and wellbeing of people in our care, our staff, and the communities we support continues to be a key priority throughout.”

Justice secretary Angela Constance said: “The recent emergency release of short sentence prisoners was backed by the Scottish Parliament to deal with a significant rise in the prison population. The UK Government is taking similar action in England and Wales.

“Public safety was paramount with specific safeguards built into the release process. Prisoners serving more than four years or with more than 180 days left in their sentence were automatically excluded along with certain categories of prisoners, including sex offenders and those serving sentences for domestic abuse.

“Prison governors could also veto an eligible prisoner’s release where it presented an immediate risk to a specific individual or group. The majority (65%) of those released were less than 90 days from their scheduled release.

“Steps were taken to ensure victims could access information about the release of the prisoner in their case, if they wanted to receive it. Victims already registered with the two Victim Notification Schemes were automatically informed.

“Our legislation enabled victims to have one of four named Victim Support Organisations request information from the SPS on their behalf, and the SPS made extra arrangements to respond swiftly to any other victims who contacted them directly.”