The Scottish Government are set to release as many as 390 prisoners under their new early release scheme to tackle prison overcrowding.
Passed in November last year, the Prisoners Early Release Act sees prisoners who are sentenced to less than four years to be released after serving 40 per cent of their sentence, rather than 50 per cent.
Prisoners serving for violent and sexual offences will be made exempt from the Act.
Scottish Justice Secretary Angela Constance said prison reforms "will give an immediate and a sustained reduction" in the prison population of around 5 per cent.
Angela Constance said the release 'will give an immediate and sustained reduction' in the prison population
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Constance said: “It is fair to say that in terms of crimes of violence that is not an insignificant proportion of people serving short-term sentences.
“But the important point, and the raison d’etre of this legislation, is that we need to achieve a sustained reduction in the prison population that is necessary to ensure that our prisons can continue to accommodate those who pose the greatest risk of harm, and also to support rehabilitation in order to reduce re-offending.
“There is an inextricable link between the work that goes on in prisons and the safety of our community.”
Second and third tranches of release will occur on March 4-6 and March 18-20.
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Prison population in England and Wales
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First Minister of Scotland John Swinney said, “prisons were absolutely bursting at the seams” and operating above capacity.
The first tranche of early releases comes the day after the release of the Independent Sentencing Review which found ill-advised sentencing reforms and a political drive to appear "tough on crime" pushed Britain's justice system to the brink of collapse.
Former Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary David Gauke, who chaired the review, said: “The total prison population has grown by over 40,000 people since 1993 with adults sentenced for indictable offences now serving longer sentences.
“England and Wales also have one of the highest prison population rates in Western Europe.”
He continued: “Prison demand is expected to grow by an average of 3,000 people a year– the equivalent of building two large prisons per year.
England and Wales have one of the highest prison population rates in Western Europe
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“Without further Government action, the prison population could reach up to 112,300 prisoners by November 2032.”
In a previous report, Gauke found “after February 2023, the male estate was routinely operating at above 99 per cent capacity”.
The Scottish release comes after a similar scheme which saw 3,100 prisoners released in England and Wales since September.
Despite planning to deliver 14,000 more prison places by 2031, prisons continue to struggle with overcrowding.
Constance said a previous Scottish release which saw 477 people released early, provided “temporary respite only”.
