Scottish Government Set to Release 550 Prisoners to Ease Overcrowding

A prison officer walks down the landing at Barlinnie prison in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oct. 16, 2013. Danny Lawson/PA

The Scottish Government has announced an “emergency release” of 550 prisoners in an effort to ease chronic overcrowding.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the releases would begin in four phases starting at the end of June.

She said work was being carried out to ensure victims are notified before people convicted of crimes against them are freed.

There were 8,313 people in Scotland’s jails on Wednesday, down only slightly from the 8,348 prisoners when Ms. Constance first mooted the idea of early release.

The announcement comes only two weeks after the chief inspector of prisons, Charlie Taylor, said high-risk prisoners had been released from an English prison at short notice “to free up space.”

In Scotland, the early release regulations are expected to be approved by the Parliament at Holyrood and come into force on June 13.

Ms. Constance said officials from her ministry were working together with the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal service to “streamline” the process of notifying victims ahead of an offender’s release.

Ms. Constance said she wanted victims to get details, “about the release date of the prisoner in their case, if they are released as part of this emergency process.”

This is especially important in cases where a person has been violently assaulted.

Ms. Constance said there was no question of released early anyone serving life sentences or anyone convicted of terror-related, sexual or domestic violence offences.

Veto Release of Those Who Pose ‘Immediate Risk’

Prison governors will also have the power to veto the release of anyone they believe poses an “immediate risk” to an individual.

Ms. Constance said eligible prisoners with less than 45 days of their sentence left to serve will be released on June 26 and 27, and another group, with up to 89 days left, will be freed on July 3 and 4.

The general election takes place on July 4, which means that many of those being released will be able to vote in person at polling stations.

Another batch of inmates who have up to 134 days left to serve will be released on July 10 and 11 and the final cohort, who still have up to 180 days left, will be freed on July 17 and 18.

Prison overcrowding can sometimes lead to riots and disorder and it is sometimes the case that high temperatures during summer and stifling conditions in cells and on the wings can exacerbate tense situations.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance is sworn in during a ceremony at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 31, 2023. Andrew Milligan-Pool/Getty Images

In a letter to Holyrood’s criminal justice committee, Ms. Constance said, “I am acutely aware that using emergency release is a significant step and this is not a decision I have taken lightly.”

“I am clear that the situation in our prisons is so serious that emergency action is needed to keep people safe, and to protect the security and good order of prisons,” she added.

The idea of early release was first floated by Ms. Constance earlier this month after she said an unprecedented increase of around 400 inmates since March 18 had left the prison estate at “critical risk.”

The Scottish Conservatives’ justice spokesman Russell Findlay said: “In a matter of days, the SNP government has increased the number of prisoners it wants to release early by 10 percent.

“Sneaking this out while all attention is on their expenses-fiddling MSP is shabby, even by their standards,” he added.

“The public deserve to know the full extent of how many criminals are going to be set free, when this will happen and what measures are being taken to protect the public,” said Mr. Findlay.

Prisons in England and Wales are also at full capacity and in October, the Justice Secretary Alex Chalk announced plans to release some inmates up to 18 days early to ease overcrowding.

PA Media contributed to this report.