Scottish Government missed key pledge on community justice
Labour have accused the SNP of making “no progress” after a report found the Scottish Government had missed its pledge on community justice.
Ministers had long promised to move justice away from incarceration and increase the use of community sentences such as community payback orders, drug programmes or electronic monitoring.
However, a report from Audit Scotland has now found community sentences have stagnated over the past three years, with the country having one of the highest incarceration rates in Western Europe.
Five per cent of sentences handed down by courts – excluding fines – in 2016/17 were community sentences, dropping to 56 per cent the following year before returning to 59 per cent in 2019/20.
Scottish Labour’s justice spokespersonpaulinemcneill said “This report should be a
wake-up call for the Scottish Government and all those committed to improving our justice system.
“It has been five years since the Parliament agreed this important law, but it seems the SNP have made no progress towards making it a reality.
“Many of our prisons are extremely overcrowded, made worse by the high levels of people held on remand in Scotland. Community justice, particularly for those who have not been convicted of a violent crime, must become more widely used.” Stephen Boyle, the Auditor
General, said: “Reducing reoffending by shifting the balance of sentencing from prison to the community has the potential to reduce the costs to the individual, taxpayer and wider society.
“But that Scottish Government aim hasn’t yet been achieved.”
Scottish Government analysis found in 2016/17 the cost of housing a prisoner in Scotland was on average £37,344 compared to just £1,894 for community sentences.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “While sentencing decisions in individual cases are a matter for the independent courts, we are committed to encouraging more widespread use of community-based interventions where appropriate.
"These are often more effective at reducing reoffending, as Audit Scotland sets out and for keeping our communities safe.”