Early release of 500 prisoners has not solved jail overcrowding, says Swinney

EDINBURGH: The release of almost 500 prisoners in Scotland “has not solved the situation” of overcrowding, First Minister John Swinney has said.

The decision was announced earlier this year to let a select group of prisoners out in order to avoid the collapse of a prison system which has been severely overcrowded in recent years.In four tranches during the summer, 477 inmates were allowed to leave prisons, providing they were in the last six months of their sentence and had not been jailed for more than four years or convicted of domestic violence, sexual of terrorism offences. According to the Scottish Prison Service, there were 8,227 inmates on Friday – still higher than the target of 8,007.

Speaking before the Holyrood Conveners Group at Parliament on Wednesday, the First Minister said issues with overcrowding in prisons is a “very, very serious situation”.He added: “We still face a serious situation and I fully expect the Justice Secretary to have to come back to Parliament to brief Parliament about the current situation.

“Because although the release of 477 prisoners during June and July as part of the early release scheme has helped, it has not solved the situation.“I suspect that will come back to Parliament in due course and we are considering the options that are available there.”