by Bill Heaney
After the Government released more than 1,400 prisoners early, cutting the automatic early release point to less than a third of the sentence, bringing in a presumption against short sentences and all but stopping under-25s from going to prison, Scotland’s prison population is, nevertheless, still at record levels, according to Conservative MSP Liam Kerr.
He asked if the First Minister accepts that the knee-jerk, ham-fisted early release scheme has failed.
And for confirmation that the Government will not bring forward yet another early release scheme to cover up its failure to tackle Scotland’s prison capacity crisis?
Mr Swinney replied: “Liam Kerr raises a serious issue. The prison population is at a very high level, and the level of incarceration is very high.
“That is partly because of the success of the criminal justice authorities in prosecuting individuals for historical crimes and because of the length of sentences that have been applied.
“It gives rise to significant issues with prison capacity, which is being addressed directly. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Ian Gray, and I met to discuss the issue yesterday.
“It will be the source of focused work among partners to ensure we take all necessary action so that the prison population can be stabilised and our prisons can operate safely for all concerned.”
Top of page: Barlinnie Prison in Glasgow.