This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Reforms for early release from prison
23/01/2006
An independent report on early release and the supervision of prisoners on their release has been published today.
The Sentencing Commission for Scotland's recommendations will make a significant contribution to the Executive's proposed reforms to the current system.
Ministers will now consider the detailed implications of the recommendations and publish their proposals in the late Spring - ahead of the introduction of a Sentencing Bill later this year.
The Commission's Chairman, the Rt Hon Lord Macfadyen, said the package of proposed reforms represented an opportunity to bring much-needed clarity and transparency in sentencing - but he warned that the proposals were not intended to increase the severity of sentencing and should not be regarded as a 'back door' opportunity to make Scotland a more penal society.
Key recommendations in the Report include:
- A new regime for those sentenced to terms of more than 12 months involving the offender serving the whole of a minimum period, fixed by the court, in jail. After that most would then serve a further part of their sentence in the community. However, release at the end of the custodial part would depend on the risk presented by the return of the prisoner to the community being assessed as acceptable
- A separate regime for those sentenced to custodial terms of 12 months or less, involving discretionary release from prison on electronically-monitored Home Detention Curfew after not less than half the term has been served
- Sentencers being required to explain the effect of the sentence so that the offender, the victim, the media and the public at large are in no doubt about what the sentence means in terms of the minimum time to be served in custody and that which may be served in the community
- Steps being taken, by statute or otherwise, to make it explicit that the term of custody imposed on an offender should be the minimum period that requires to be served to satisfy the criminal justice requirements of punishment and deterrence and the protection of the public
- The continued need for custodial sentences to be proportionate to the gravity of the offending
- And that future legislation governing a new statutory regime expressly provides that a sentencer, when having regard to sentences imposed under the previous regime, must also have regard to the rights to early release under that previous regime
The Rt Hon Lord Macfadyen said:
"This is the second report that the Commission has produced. The topic was identified by the Scottish Executive as one to which it attached priority when it set up the Commission in November 2003.
"Our review of this complex area of our law has been thorough. We consider that the keys to improving this aspect of our criminal law are simplicity and clarity. We also believe that the greater transparency which we are recommending should help create a regime that is understandable. Such understanding is vital if confidence in this aspect of our criminal justice system is to be restored and maintained.
"As our consultations showed, the public, including victims of crime and their families, the media, and some criminal justice practitioners find it difficult to comprehend some of the existing statutory provisions and their practical effect. In short, our recommendations are designed to put forward a system in which the sentences imposed by the courts will mean what they say.
"However, we are also very clear as a Commission that the new system must also ensure that safeguards are put in place to ensure that the levels of sentences imposed in the future take account of the way the system presently operates. We do not intend our proposals to involve an increase in the general level of time spent in custody, unless the offender presents a particular risk on release.
"I am very grateful to my colleagues on the Commission who have given their time to produce this report, and those who responded to our consultation paper and whom we met to discuss matters which we had under consideration. We have taken into account the variety of views expressed to us in formulating our recommendations."
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said:
"We are committed already to ending automatic early release and replacing it with a new regime that the public - particularly victims - can understand. A system that, as well as punishing the offender, will allow for a sentence that can be tailored to the offender's risk and needs in a way that will enhance public protection and reduce re-offending. The Commission's report makes a valuable contribution towards achieving our goal.
"It has always been clear to us that the current system is confusing and discredited in the public's eye and in need of reform. We have been equally clear that the right way to bring about reform was to do so with the best evidence and advice available to us. That's why we established a judicially-led Sentencing Commission and why we made the issue of early release one of its first priorities.
"Over the next few weeks, Ministers will be considering carefully the Commission's Report. However, in welcoming the Commission's report today, I want to comment on two aspects in particular.
"First, the strong thread running through the package to transform the way our courts communicate with those using the system - whether a victim, a witness, or indeed the perpetrator of a crime. In short, ensuring that when a sentence is handed down by a court it is widely understood exactly what it means. The public have a right to that information, to know what an individual sentence is.
"Secondly, I welcome the strong indication from the Commission for an ideological shift in the way we understand the term 'sentence' - moving away from its old-fashioned and narrow interpretation as a spell behind bars to a managed process in which jail and tough community options work in tandem to both punish and rehabilitate.
"This chimes with other measures we have taken to reduce reoffending. It's not just about locking people up. It is about innovative and targeted offender management - whether the offender is in prison or is serving a community part of their sentence. Joined up services bringing law and order to chaotic lives.
"I would like to thank Lord Macfadyen and the Commission for producing a thorough and thoughtful examination of the problems with the present system. I will consider carefully all the recommendations in their report and how they can contribute to our radical end-to-end reform of our justice services."
The Commission is an independent, judicially-led body which was set up by the Executive under its policy statement 'A Partnership for a Better Scotland'.
The Commission, which was launched in November 2003, was given the remit to review and make recommendations to the Executive on:
- the use of bail and remand
- the basis on which fines are determined
- the effectiveness of sentences in reducing re-offending
- the scope to improve consistency of sentencing, and;
- the arrangements for early release from prison and the supervision of prisoners on their release.
The report has been submitted for the consideration of Scottish Ministers. It is for Scottish Ministers to then set out their formal proposals for the future reform of this area of sentencing.