Jail bosses plan to set hundreds of inmates free as staff fall sick

PRISON bosses are planning to free hundreds of ‘lower-level’ criminals as coronavirus takes hold in Scots jails.

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has said ministers will have to ‘look at every measure’ amid rising staff absences.

Inmates deemed to be at a lower risk of reoffending are those that Scottish Prison Service (SPS) bosses are preparing to release in ‘waves’ if the crisis worsens.

Officials fear freeing too many at one time might have a knock-on effect, possibly fuelling homelessness.

Last night, Scottish Tory Justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘It is our understanding that this proposal is only being considered by the Scottish Government because of the unprecedented and grave situation Scotland faces.

‘There is no doubt that the prison environment poses a unique challenge during this crisis and particular focus must be on the health of our dedicated prison staff.

‘The risk associated with this release process must be properly managed with extremely rigorous and robust checks put in place to ensure the safety of the Scottish public.’

A justice system source said: ‘Prisons are in uncharted territory. You can’t just let prisoners out all at once because it could cause real problems such as destitution. It needs to be properly managed. There are also many people who couldn’t be let out for public safety reasons so jails are assessing which prisoners could be freed with minimal risk. It will have to be done in waves, in a staggered way.’

The source questioned the assumption prisoners on remand awaiting trial would be safest to release, saying: ‘There are a lot of people on remand you wouldn’t want out on the streets.’

The SPS declined to comment for operational reasons and said it could not reveal the number of staff who are self-isolating or have virus symptoms.

There are 100 prisoners selfisolating in ten jails, either with symptoms of the virus or having been in close contact with someone with symptoms.

It also emerged prisons are poised to reduce the minimum legal entitlement to exercise in the open air for prisoners from one hour to 30 minutes a day.

The source said: ‘If you are going to practise social distancing in a responsible way in a prison setting, that means fewer people can get out at the same time, which may mean cutting the time available for outdoor exercise.’

On freeing inmates, another insider said: ‘They will probably look first of all at those prisoners who are relatively close to release anyway. If you are going to free for example up to 1,000 inmates, who only have seven or eight months to go before they’re out anyway, then is that really such a bad idea?

They added: ‘It has been looked at in the context of tackling overcrowding before. And it happened in wartime when prisoners would be called up to the Army – that was a national emergency of a different kind.’

The insider said prisoners ‘might be safer “locked down” in their own homes’.

They said: ‘In jails you have professionals coming in, medical and catering staff, who must go in there – there’s no alternative – and they then go out into the community and pass on infection. We would be talking hundreds rather than thousands of prisoners being freed.’

Earlier this week, Mr Yousaf said if ‘staff absences at SPS continue because of the public health advice, we will have to look at every single measure’.

He added: ‘We cannot rule out releasing prisoners, if that’s in the best interests of keeping our establishments safe and those who work in those establishments.’

It was confirmed this week all prison visiting had been banned amid the lockdown.

Lord Advocate James Wolffe said the justice system will try to resolve or progress cases ‘with the minimum need for appearance at court’.

When it is necessary for cases to go ahead, he said witnesses will be kept to a minimum. The ‘great majority’ of cases would be postponed. Those accused of crimes and in custody would appear via video link.

‘The risks must be properly managed’