MacAskill: Low-level offenders better off out of prison

Published on Thursday 30 July 2009 22:13

JUSTICE secretary Kenny MacAskill has insisted there are better ways of dealing with minor offenders than sending them to prison.

Mr MacAskill has repeatedly spoken out against the use of short-term jail sentences as a punishment for less serious crimes. He raised the issue again yesterday after a visit to Scotland's only all-women prison, Cornton Vale, in Stirling.

He said two thirds of the women there were serving sentences of six months or less, adding they had "typically been jailed for low-level offences".

But Mr MacAskill said the "churn" of inmates caused by short sentences and rising prisoner numbers prevented the Scottish Prison Service from investing resources in schemes to help rehabilitate them.

One measure in the Scottish Government's Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill is the presumption against sentences of six months or less.

If passed, the legislation would also see sheriffs forced to provide clear reasons for handing down such a sentence.

Speaking after his visit to Cornton Vale, Mr MacAskill said: "It is important that people who break the law – men and women – are punished, and equally important that they are punished appropriately."

But he added: "The statistics speak for themselves – four out of five women going to Cornton Vale have a mental health problem and seven out of ten have a history of abuse or trauma."

Mr MacAskill said that as part of the justice regime the underlying causes of these women's offending behaviour – such as substance abuse, domestic abuse or mental health problems – must be addressed.

However he stated: "Having to cope with the churn caused by very short sentences and rising prisoner numbers, at a time when recorded crime rates are dropping, prevents the Prison Service from investing resources into rehabilitation schemes.

"So while the staff at Cornton Vale are doing a fantastic job, a short-term prison environment is not always conducive to identifying root problems and dealing with them effectively."

Mr MacAskill stressed: "Prison is the right place for serious criminals, and serious criminals deserve to be jailed for a long time."