2,000 prisoners a year set to be freed early and tagged instead

• Jails to become emptier as criminals get tagging instead

• Plan is to cut reoffending

• Opposition voices are unconvinced

Key quote

"It’s a simplistic solution to a problem of their own making. If somebody deserves to be in prison because of the seriousness of the crime or their danger to society, that is where they should be." - Kenny MacAskill, SNP justice spokesman

Story in full

TWO thousand criminals a year will be granted early release from jail and tagged under controversial plans to cut reoffending.

The Scottish Executive last night revealed the full extent of the proposed use of home detention curfews (HDCs), which will allow large numbers of "low risk" prisoners to serve the last weeks and months of their sentences in the community.

Cathy Jamieson, the justice minister, yesterday insisted the move was "not a soft option".

But opposition politicians branded the introduction of HDCs a "panic reaction" to the rising prison population and called for more resources to support proper community-based punishments.

Under the plans contained in the Management of Offenders Bill, prisoners will be fitted with electronic tags to ensure they remain in their homes at night. If they breach the order they will be returned to jail.

Sex offenders and violent criminals will be exempt, but housebreakers, drug dealers and other offenders assessed as being low risk could be released up to four-and-a-half months early.

The Scottish Executive last night estimated that some 7,500 prisoners would be assessed for HDCs every year.

Officials said about 2,000 would be released early with the average curfew lasting around 55 days.

With about 30,000 prison "check-ins" every year, it is anticipated that 7 per cent of all inmates will benefit from the early release scheme.

Nearly 4.5 million will be spent every year monitoring those tagged.

Kenny MacAskill, the SNP justice spokesman, said: "It’s a simplistic solution to a problem of their own making.

"If somebody deserves to be in prison because of the seriousness of the crime or their danger to society, that is where they should be.

"If somebody is not a danger to society or their crime is not that serious they should not be in prison and in most instances probably should not be tagged.

"What we need is more resources for community-based disposals and less panic reaction to ever-growing prison numbers."

Giving evidence to MSPs on the bill, Ms Jamieson defended the proposed use of HDCs saying they would help address the occasional "over-reliance" on short-term jailings.

She insisted the curfews were part of a package of measures to help low-risk prisoners return to the community.

Ms Jamieson said the scheme could offer "throughcare" support to short-term prisoners such as housing and employment assistance or money advice.

However, they would not get "24-hour wrap-around" social work care, she said, arguing that a person who needed that should still be in custody.

"What the home detention curfew does is allow people to begin to take responsibility for themselves, to prove that they’re out there and they can be trusted to be in the community."

Ms Jamieson added: "I don’t think it’s helpful to consistently refer to things as being a hard or soft option. What we need to find are effective options."

The tagging of prisoners was thrown into the spotlight recently by the case of Peter Williams, the teenager who removed his device before taking part in a raid on a Nottingham jeweller’s shop in which his accomplice shot Marian Bates as she tried to shield her daughter.

Williams had earlier been detained for burglary but was released on licence and tagged three weeks before the killing.

Margaret Mitchell, the Scottish Tories’ deputy justice spokeswoman, insisted prisoners should not be released early if they are classed as posing any risk to society.

"The criminal justice system must be driven with the protection of the public as its number one aim," she said. "This Labour-Lib Dem Executive seems far more interested in emptying prisons than in protecting the public and they need to face up to the simple fact that if somebody poses a risk to society then prison is the one place where they do not pose that threat."

But Clive Fairweather, the former Chief Inspector of Prisons in Scotland, gave a cautious welcome to the plans, while acknowledging that releasing prisoners early from their sentences was "hugely controversial".

He said: "I wouldn’t welcome it as a blanket measure, nor as a panic step to deal with rising prison numbers. But as a careful measure to reduce the prison population and put the responsibility on some people to look after themselves and look after their own rehabilitation, it’s not necessarily a bad thing at all."

The proposed legislation will also introduce new community justice authorities and will require councils, prison bosses and other agencies to work more closely to help released prisoners stay out of trouble.

The bill was launched in March after figures showed about six out of ten prisoners are reconvicted within two years of their release.