The prison population has surged by more than 200 in the past three months and now stands at 8,363, one of the highest levels ever recorded. Following significant measures over the past two years to address unprecedented rises in prisoner numbers, Justice Secretary Angela Constance told MSPs further action is needed to ensure the sustained, safe and effective operation of prisons.

Subject to Parliament’s approval, this would mean:

• Short-term prisoners serving under four years and within 180 days of their scheduled release eligible for emergency release.
• Anyone serving a sentence for sexual offences or domestic abuse, and any registered sex offenders, excluded from the release plan.
• Prison governors given a veto on an eligible person’s release if they believe they pose an immediate risk to specific individuals or groups.
• It is estimated that in the region of 440 prisoners could be released during the initial tranches in November and December.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “This is not an action I propose lightly. I am grateful to prison staff working tirelessly in difficult circumstances and want to ensure they and those who live in prisons are kept safe, so immediate action is now necessary.

“There will be strict safeguards in place to protect public safety, which is my paramount concern. The release will only apply to those serving short sentences under four years and due to be released within the next six months and will exclude those serving sentences for sexual offences or domestic abuse. There will also be a governor veto where they consider that a prisoner poses an immediate risk of harm to specific individuals or groups.

“I absolutely recognise that the early release of prisoners can be a cause for concern for victims. We will engage with victim support organisations to ensure that information on the change in release date is available to them.

“Scotland is not alone in the UK in having to deal with a high prison population, despite the continuing action we are taking to deal with an unprecedented rise in numbers. While there is no single reason, there has been a significant rise in long-term prisoners, continuing high numbers of sentences of under a year despite the presumption against, and an increase in sentence length. This has led to an increase in numbers that needs to be alleviated.”

Victims who have already signed up to the Victim Notification Scheme (VNS) will be told automatically by the Scottish Prison Service if there is a change to the date of release of the prisoner in their case. Victims who are not signed up to the VNS can also contact the Scottish Prison Service directly to receive information or nominate Victim Support Scotland, Rape Crisis Scotland, ASSIST or Children First to receive information about prisoner release on their behalf.

Wider measures to deal with the rising prison population that continue to be taken include maximising capacity of the prison estate, some short-term prisoners being eligible for release when they reach 40 per cent of sentence served and optimising the use of Home Detention Curfew. In the longer term, an independent Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission is considering how imprisonment and community-based interventions are used, which will help inform further measures in order to establish a sustainable prison population.