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Prison figures hit record high
17/02/2008
Scotland's prison population, including those out on Home Detention Curfew, has passed through the 8,000 barrier for the first time.
On Friday (February 15) new figures from the Scottish Prison Service revealed that the figure had reached a record high of 8,024, including approximately 340 on HDC.
Earlier this week Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill visited HMP Cornton Vale and Barlinnie in Glasgow to witness how staff are coping with record prisoner numbers
Mr MacAskill said:
"In the past week I visited Cornton Vale and Barlinnie where I witnessed the negative impact that overcrowding is having on our hard-working prison staff as they try to rehabilitate serious and dangerous offenders.
"On Friday Scotland's prison population, including those on Home Detention Curfews, smashed through the 8,000 barrier. In recent weeks there have been daily increases in numbers with new records being set with depressing regularity. On some days this week we've seen nearly 100 additional prisoners entering the system.
"It is of huge credit to SPS staff that these trying circumstances are being managed and operational stability maintained across the estate. Their safety must be taken into consideration as our prison population continues to escalate. What is already a demanding job is clearly being made more difficult due to current circumstances.
"I recognise the need for prisons. Within a few months of coming to office I announced record investment in our prison estate. A financial package of £120m capital funding a year for the SPS to modernise facilities and finally eradicate the scandal of slopping out. We are working hard to address the legacy of a prison system that has leaked millions of pounds of taxpayers' money through human rights challenges. This will allow us to continue to develop a prison estate fit for purpose which has the proper facilities available for working with prisoners to tackle their offending behaviour and reduce their risk of reoffending.
"This is not about emptying our prisons simply because of overcrowding. Serious offenders and dangerous criminals who should be locked up are not getting the treatment they need to prevent them from reoffending on release because of the churn created by short sentences for low level crimes.
"In the short-term we are using measures such as HDC for less serious offenders to help manage the prison population. Government doesn't have a monopoly on good ideas and we have established an independent Prisons Commission to bring fresh thinking on the use and purpose of prison in contemporary Scotland.
"But I believe less serious offenders currently cluttering our jails should be paying back their debts to society - not adding to society's bill for their bed and board. Tough community punishments will protect the public, help offenders turn their lives around, and involve some pay back to communities they have harmed.
"We need to develop a coherent penal policy that improves prison's capacity to protect the public and rehabilitate criminals - one that locks up dangerous offenders and deals with lower risk offenders in the community.
"Let me be very clear, there is no suggestion that dangerous criminals and those who commit serious offences will be getting off lightly - quite the reverse. We expect violent, sexual, and serious and organised criminals to be punished and the public protected. Those who do offend will face the consequences of their actions - and prison will still be a major part of that."