CRIMINALS FREED TO REOFFEND
Inmates let out due to Covid back in jail for fresh crimes
CRIMINALS freed from jail to protect them from Covid-19 were returned to prison for a catalogue of crimes including violence, housebreaking, firearms and drugs, it has emerged.
Hundreds of inmates were allowed home during the first wave of the pandemic to reduce the risk posed by the virus behind bars – but more than 40 per cent ended up back in jail.
In all, 142 prisoners were returned to custody for an alarming list of suspected offences involving attempted murder, serious assault, robbery and sex offences.
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf opened the doors of Scotland’s jails for a total of 348 inmates last spring – but they were freed without any sort of supervision.
Now he has admitted that he always anticipated many of them would go on to commit crimes.
In a letter to Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr, Mr Yousaf wrote: ‘It is very much regrettable that reoffending occurred, although some degree of reoffending amongst prison leavers is not unexpected.’
Mr Kerr said yesterday: ‘If prisoners had to be released, there should have been a robust monitoring strategy. Some serious criminals were just left to roam.
‘This is yet another example of the SNP’s casual approach to crime. If the Justice Secretary was expecting these prisoners to reoffend, why did he choose to release them unsupervised instead of deploying the necessary resources to protect the public.’
He added: ‘The SNP are soft on crime. The Scottish Conservatives would end this soft-touch approach with our Victims Law which, among other things, would end early release, putting victims first.’
It comes as Scotland reported no new coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the latest data. There have been 532 new cases of Covid-19, with a daily test positivity rate of 2.9 per cent, up from 2.7 per cent on Saturday.
Since the start of the outbreak, 7,552 people have died who tested positive as at March 21, figures published by the Scottish Government yesterday show.
There were 344 people in hospital on Saturday with recently confirmed Covid-19, down from 367 the previous day. Thirty-one patients were in intensive care, no change on the day before.
Although no new deaths were reported, the Scottish Government noted registry offices are now generally closed at weekends.
So far, 2,144,940 people have received the first dose of the Covid vaccination and 220,188 have received their second dose.
In a bid to hold back the spread of the first wave of Covid-19, ministers brought forward emergency laws last spring to allow some of Scotland’s 8,000 prisoners to be freed early. Those selected had to have been within the final 90 days of a sentence of no more than 18 months and those convicted of sex offences and domestic abuse were not considered.
However, they were not tagged or put under supervision.
A total of 348 were allowed home, including dozens of violent thugs and housebreakers. Now fresh data from the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) shows that, by November, 142 – or 41 per cent – of them had been returned to custody.
Among the suspected offences they had been arrested for were two attempted murders, seven serious assaults and three counts of robbery or attempted robbery.
There were also cases of possession of a firearm, public indecency, indecent communications, causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, credit card fraud, drugdealing and a raft of minor assaults, thefts and driving offences.
Serial burglar John Rice, 55, was released early in June but was arrested again within 48 hours for attempting to steal from cars and intending to break into council buildings in Greenock.
He was sent back to prison to serve his previous sentence plus a further two months.
Reece Stewart, 29, who was freed in May, admitted careless driving in Aberdeen, failing to stop following an accident, driving without a licence or insurance and threatening behaviour. He was jailed for nearly six months.
An SPS spokesman said early releases in the pandemic had been ‘very helpful in reducing overcrowding in our prisons’.
The Scottish Government said there are currently ‘no plans for another early release scheme. However, that position is kept regularly under review’.
‘Serious criminals were left to roam’ ‘Violent thugs and housebreakers’