Jail terms ‘only where necessary’
● Short jail terms do little to prevent reoffending, says report, with community-based sentences being more successful
Criminals are to receive jail sentences “only where necessary” as part of a new Scottish justice strategy focusing on crime prevention and the rehabilitation of offenders.
Justice secretary michael Matheson announced the government’s Vision and Priorities for Justice report yesterday as work began to demolish Scotland’s only female prison, Cornton Vale near Stirling.
Scotland has 138 prisoners per 100,000 population, a figure just behind that in England and Wales but more than recorded elsewhere in western Europe.
Criminals should only be jailed as a last result under a new Scottish justice strategy aimed at shifting emphasis on to crime prevention and the rehabilitation of offenders.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson announced the initiative to deal with the “stubbornly high” prison population by focussing more cash on reducing crime.
The Scottish Government’s Vision and Priorities for Justice report was launched as work to demolish Scotland’s only female prison – Cornton Vale, near Stirling – began.
The report said jail sentences should be handed down “only where necessary” prompting concerns from the Scottish Conservatives, who warned the Scottish Government against overlooking the role played by prisons in keeping communities safe.
The report said Scotland had 138 prisoners per 100,000 population, a figure just behind that in England and Wales but more than recorded elsewhere in western Europe including in Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium, Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Although
JUSTICE REPORT
crime appeared to be falling more quickly in Scotland than in other western societies, the prison population “remains stubbornly high”.
The report further noted that international evidence suggested that prison “can have damaging effects through weakening social ties, creating stigma, adversely impacting on employability and housing stability, ultimately increasing the likelihood of reoffending”.
It added that short sentences were “counter-productive” because they do not prevent reoffending. According to the report, community-based disposals were more effective at reducing re-offending than short sentences.
“Over half of those released from a prison sentence of six months or less are reconvicted within a year, and over twothirds of those who are reconvicted end up back in prison. For some people, prison continues to be a revolving door,” the report said.
One of the report’s key priorities was that: “We will use prison only where necessary to address offending or to protect public safety, focusing on recovery and reintegration.”
Currently, the “cost of enforcement” outweighs the proportion of the Scottish Government’s £2.5 billion justice budget spent on prevention and early intervention.
The report said: “In times of reduced public spending, a shift towards preventative spending is challenging, but it is more likely to be effective in the long term.”
The Scottish Government said it would work to improve health and well-being in prisons, focussing on substance abuse and mental health. It intends to promote rehabilitation and to identify offenders quickly.
Mr Matheson said: “While our imprisonment rate – the second highest in western Europe – remains too high, prisons will always be necessary for those who commit the most serious offences, or who pose significant risks to public safety.
“The Scottish Prison Service is transforming how they work to better rehabilitate those in custody, addressing underlying issues that can often drive their return to jail.”
The Tories accepted that crime prevention was important, but warned that “crime enforcement” should not be overlooked.
The party’s justice spokesman, Liam Kerr, claimed the SNP was “soft-touch” on justice.
He said: “Michael Matheson has hinted he wants to shift away from enforcement, but that will only make life easier for the criminals who destroy lives in towns and cities across Scotland.
“This was also a golden opportunity for the Scottish Government to introduce whole-life sentences for the most dangerous and brutal criminals, as happens elsewhere in the UK. But the SNP shirked away from this again, and that’s a slap in the face to victims and their families.”
Liam Mcarthur, the Liberal Democrat justice spokesman, said: “We need to see far greater ambition from the Scottish Government in tackling rehabilitation and ensuring that the justice system works more effectively for everyone.”
“A shift towards preventative spending is challenging, but it is more likely to be effective in the long term”