Automatic Early Release Scrapped

The First Minister has announced an end to automatic early release for long-term prisoners in Scotland.

Nicola Sturgeon says sex offenders, serving more than four years behind bars, will no longer be released after two-thirds of their jail term.

Offenders sentenced to at least ten years will also not be freed two-thirds into their sentence.

The move is aimed at maintaining public safety, while prisoners found guilty of a serious offence will be placed under supervision to promote better rehabilitation and reintegration.

The First Minister said:

"The safety of the public is an absolute priority of this government, and we have made significant progress in recent years, with an additional 1,000 police officers on our streets and recorded crime now at its lowest level in 40 years.

"But we are not complacent, and we recognise that tough action is required to tackle those offenders who commit the most serious crimes, ensuring that communities are kept safe while at the same time making efforts to reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

"Prison remains the most appropriate place for serious offenders, and we had already included proposals in the Prisoners (Control of Release) Bill to end automatic early release for certain categories of prisoner.

"Today I am announcing that we will go much further, ending automatic early release at two-thirds of their sentence for all long-term prisoners in Scotland - which are defined as those sentenced to four years or more. That means every prisoner serving a sentence of four years or more will remain in jail for much longer than is currently the case if deemed necessary by the Parole Board.

"As an additional safety measure, I can also confirm today that we will introduce a guaranteed period of supervision for these long term prisoners, to be set out as part of their sentence, which will aid their rehabilitation and help them reintegrate into communities.

"This is a concrete example of the Scottish Government delivering on our justice commitments, indeed, with today's announcement we are going significantly further in ending automatic early release than our initial legislation had proposed.

"Following our recent announcement on Inverclyde and additional funding to reduce female offending, our justice policy is focused on ensuring that those serious offenders who should be in prison are in prison and when they are released, they have effective supervision. All of this will help protect our communities."

Susan Gallagher, Acting Chief Executive of Victim Support Scotland said:

"For those who live in all of the communities in which we work this should be viewed as a step closer to achieving a system in which sentences are straightforward and understandable to the victim and those communities.

"We also support the guarantee of a period of post-release supervision for prisoners, as we recognise the significant role played by community supervision, not only in facilitating enhanced reintegration into the community, but also in supporting offenders to desist from further offending."