WHY is early release of prisoners the solution to overcrowding in Scottish prisons ("New plans for early prisoner release?", The Herald, November 20)? Where is the condemnation of this bill that has just been passed which means that any prisoner sentenced to four years or less will be released after 40% of their term (excluding those convicted of sexual or domestic violence)? Why is there no holding the SNP to account for not building more prisons? Where are the questions as to why our prison numbers keep rising? Why do we have one of the highest imprisonment rates in Western Europe (147 per 100k of population)? Why do one in four reoffend within a year? Seventy-eight per cent of prisoners tested positive for illicit substances when entering prison as per the last figures available (2018). The recently resigned HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland in her final annual report commented on many of these issues including “there is one particular issue with far-reaching consequences that I and my predecessors have consistently reported on: the stubbornly entrenched issue of overcrowding in Scotland’s prisons. The high numbers in Scotland’s prisons and the issues that it causes are sadly not unexpected and remain a serious concern”.
Releasing prisoners is an easy option to deal with overcrowding but it does not address the issues surrounding crime and prisoners. Scots have a right to feel safe in society; those committing offences should be suitably punished but also .