Monitoring more stringent than ever, says Scottish Government

The Scottish Government has said measures to monitor prisoners out on home leave are now “more stringent” than ever.

But a spokesman said any lessons that can be learned from Robbie McIntosh’s case will be heeded.

A serious case review into how McIntosh was monitored while out on home leave is under way in a bid to identify any flaws that can be addressed in future cases.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Robbie McIntosh was convicted of this truly terrible crime and it is only right the responsible authorities review their practices to identify any areas where professional practice and public protection could be improved.

“Violence has a serious and longlasting impact on victims and their families. Keeping the public safe from dangerous offenders is our top priority and while the monitoring of offenders is already more stringent than it has ever been, we are determined to ensure that any lessons from specific cases are learned and used to make the system even more robust.

“We await an independent review of the case which is currently under way,” he added.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has already ruled out scrapping home leave for convicted killers.

In the wake of McIntosh’s conviction for attempted murder, Ms Sturgeon said home leave is a “necessary” part of the rehabilitation process.

She added that prison authorities carry out a “rigorous” risk assessment before granting any prisoner home leave, but did not rule out making changes to the how these assessments are made.

It is only right the responsible authorities review their practices. SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT