1 in 5 tagged crooks break curfew rules

ALMOST 9,000 criminals have walked free from Scotland’s jails after serving as little as a quarter of their sentences, damning figures revealed yesterday.

And of those released on electronic tags – with curfews of up to 12 hours a day – nearly one in five was sent back to jail for breaching the conditions of their new-found freedom.

The figures show 8,989 prisoners were granted home detention curfews since 2012 – with 1,880 infractors and 1,655 recalls.

The curfew scheme allows inmates out of jail up to six months before what would be their earliest release date.

The Government’s automatic early release policy – which allows most inmates to get out after half their sentence – and the curfews means those serving two years can be released in just six months.

The Scottish Prison Service figures come less than six months after ministers said they were looking into schemes in which criminals would routinely skirt jail in favour of electronic monitoring.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr said: ‘There’s undoubtedly a place for these curfews, which can help prepare inmates for life on the outside. But people will be shocked that they’re being used this often. It appears to be a scenario where criminals are given priority over victims. These orders should be used sparingly and towards the end of someone’s sentence. It appears from these statistics the SNP is using them as a tool to empty prisons.’

HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow has released the most inmates on tags since January 2012 – 1,524 up to the end of June this year. Edinburgh’s Saughton prison had 1,152 walking free early in the same period.

HMP Shotts, which holds many of Scotland’s most notorious killers, has released only one on a curfew over that time.

Despite assurances those being freed are strictly vetted, the total breach rate is 20.9 per cent. Of those who flouted the rules, 584 recorded a ‘serious breach of curfew’, 188 intentionally damaged the electronic tag and five assaulted or threatened the G4S staff assigned to fit the equipment.

The Scottish Prison Service said: ‘The reasons for recalls include failure to meet appointments, breach of curfew, false breaches, damage to equipment or withdrawal of consent from the householder.’

The Scottish Government said: ‘Home detention curfew aids prisoner reintegration back into the community while maintaining an appropriate element of control – but in any case where those requirements are breached we will ensure individuals serve out the remainder of their sentence.’