DELEGATES to the SNP conference are to demand that more action is taken to drive down Scotland’s prison population after it emerged the country has got the highest incarceration rate in Britain.
A motion for debate at the online event later this month raises concerns that 96% of prisoners are young men with 30% of inmates aged 30 or under.
It calls for the party to carry out a study to consider other models for dealing with people who have committed criminal offences and highlights an approach in Finland which uses open prisons and focuses more on rehabilitation.
“Conference is concerned that Scotland’s incarceration rate at 133 per 100,000 of the population is far too high,” says the resolution submitted by the Edinburgh Central and Thurso branches of the SNP.
“This is slightly higher than in England and Wales (130 per 100,000) and substantially higher than most other European Union countries, for example, France (90 per 100,000) and the Netherlands (63 per 100,000).”
It adds: “Conference is particularly concerned that 96% of prisoners are young men, with 32% of prisoners aged 30 or under.
“Conference therefore proposes a study to consider other more successful models for dealing with criminal offences, such as the Finnish model which utilises open prisons and has focused on rehabilitation, reducing imprisonment rates to amongst the lowest in Europe without any increase in crime.”
Scotland’s prison population currently stands at 7527, according to the latest figures published on October 15.
But a commission chaired by former first minister Henry McLeish (below) back in 2008 recommended no more than 5000 people should be in prison in Scotland.
His report contained 23 recommendations covering a range of criminal justice issues from community sentences to young people in the justice system, and the purposes of punishment to decisions about parole and release.
It also raised concerns about high imprisonment under low crime conditions, the use of imprisonment for people with drug, alcohol and mental health problems and the use of imprisonment for very short periods.
Earlier this week the Scottish Government launched a consultation on reforms to bail and custody which could see prisoners released automatically after serving a third of their sentence.
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The plans could also see inmates serving less than four years be freed earlier and subject to electronic tagging, while parole boards could also be asked to consider releasing longer-term prisoners a third of the way into their term.
The paper calls for a more flexible system that allows discretion in custody and bail decisions with a greater emphasis on supporting “readiness for release”. Under the proposals Scottish ministers would also be empowered to release “groups of prisoners in exceptional circumstances”.
A rise in the number of inmates awaiting trial due to a backlog in the courts as a result of the pandemic is heaping more pressure on the system.
At present people jailed for fewer than four years receive automatic release after serving half their sentence, with those facing longer terms eligible for parole midway through.
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A bill to reform bail and custody release is to be introduced at Holyrood next year. Keith Brown, the justice secretary, said the prison system’s overarching aim was to “improve public safety, support victims and reduce rates of victimisation”.
Speaking as the government launched the consultation, he said: “We cannot simply keep using imprisonment to address wider societal harms. Indeed, in some cases such use can exacerbate the harm.”
Emma Jardine, the policy and public affairs adviser for Howard League Scotland, which campaigns for penal reform, said at the time: “The consultation recognises we need to be very clear about why we imprison people in Scotland. Prison is harmful, expensive and often counterproductive.”
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