SNP risk sending dangerous message that Scotland is soft on crime

In April 2024, a 35-year-old man fled the scene of a disturbance in Hamilton in a stolen vehicle and then rammed it into a police car several times, injuring the two officers inside. In November, for this and other offences, he was jailed for 18 months.

However, according to a new report by the Scottish Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission, there should be a ‘presumption’ against sentences of less than two years, rather than the current 12 months.

While this would not mean that such sentences could not be imposed, members of the judiciary would be required to provide a written explanation of why all the available alternatives to prison had not been used instead.

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Scotland sends too many people to prison, but changes to the justice system should not be based simply on the need to reduce overcrowding (Picture: Danny Lawson) | PA

Alternatives to prison must be robust

Martyn Evans, the commission’s chairman, said this proposal and others outlined in the report were designed to ensure prison was a place for “serious and dangerous offenders, not for people who need help, support or simply a second chance”.

The suggestion comes after Justice Secretary Angela Constance announced she is going to consult on bringing down the release point for some sentences from 40 to 30 per cent. The Scottish Government has also been releasing inmates early in an attempt to ease prison overcrowding.

Proportionally, Scotland sends more people to prison than most other European countries, with 8,254 people behind bars as of January 30. This is incredibly expensive and, in many cases, is probably not the best way to ensure people do not reoffend.

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However, until alternatives to prison are sufficiently robust and provide an effective deterrent to crime, judges will continue to have little option but to impose a prison sentence.

Crimes that had an average custodial sentence of less than two years in 2023/24 included robbery, fire-raising, supplying drugs and some sexual crimes. Is Scotland really about to allow the ‘average robber’ to escape a custodial sentence?

We should be trying to reduce our prison population. But the current government’s current strategy risks sending a dangerous message to society that Scotland is soft on crime.

Victims and community safety – not prison overcrowding – should always be at the forefront of politicians’ minds when making changes to the justice system.