The crisis in prison numbers across the UK can’t have escaped anyone’s notice. Scotland and our counterparts over the Border are wrestling with solutions. I should be delighted, for we are speaking about community justice options, utilising community solutions to address offending and enable people to make restitution.

Scotland has been ahead of the curve, bringing in the presumption against short sentences in 2019, encouraging sheriffs to consider alternatives to jailing someone for 12 months or less. In 2015/16, we had 11,171 short-term sentences, in 2020/21 there were 5,438. The trend has been downwards, we haven’t achieved everything that we set out to deliver, but it’s progress. Westminster is now looking to follow suit.

It’s not the only solution of course; embracing technology, diverting people from prosecution and into support services, employment opportunities, and a myriad of health and housing interventions can all combine to address the drivers associated with offending. Numerous European and Scandinavian countries have lessons for us if we’re willing to learn.

Sometimes change happens as the result of a prevailing zeitgeist. Right now, it’s because the prison population is relentlessly climbing, and community justice is having its time in the sunlight. I would have liked the conversation to have been sparked because of its efficacy, its humanity and keeping people in the community where it’s safe to do so. But shamelessly, I’ll take the opportunity to raise the profile with the benefits and caveats about its use.

Victims of crime are crucial in the debate. They need to be assured (as much as is possible) that we in justice-related services are addressing behaviour, so there are fewer victims in future. This should be our guiding principle; we should all be in the prevention space – preventing victimisation, harm and promoting safety. Surely, we can all agree on that, if not the solutions to get there.

My note of caution is around the community justice sector – both public and third sector. People work incredibly hard in this area, but it’s not a standing army, waiting to embrace the masses. They must be able to manage the numbers on their caseloads and access the services that keep people out of the justice system. We rely on supervisors, who oversee those required to complete unpaid work in their communities to repay a debt to society. A great unpaid-work supervisor can chip away at people as they work, motivating and advising, supporting and questioning – they’re often the unsung heroes in community justice.

There are many in prison who present a real risk of harm, it is a place where staff need the time, space and latitude to work with those in their custody. That can’t be done if people are in cells for 23 hours, it can’t be done if people are cycling in and out of prison for short periods, it can’t be done if staff are unable to get people on programmes to address harmful behaviour. No one wants to warehouse people – but we should be honest with ourselves that, with rising numbers, this might be as much as we have any right to expect. Just don’t assume people will come out changed for the better.

Karyn McCluskey is chief executive of Community Justice Scotland

Overcrowded prisons that 'warehouse' inmates are not going to turn them into better people. Community sentences might – Karyn McCluskey