Warning over short-term jail sentences

LOCKING up prisoners for short periods of six months or less could endanger public safety, prison chiefs said yesterday.

There are limits to the rehabilitation work that can be done, with inmates also exposed to a “university of crime”. The proposal is contained in the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill, which came before Holyrood’s justice committee yesterday.

Scottish Prison Service (SPS) chief executive Mike Ewart told the committee the bill was aimed at making the best use of prisons.

“One of the arguments we’ve been advancing is that using short-term sentences is putting the community generally at greater risk,” he said.

Sheriffs’ claims that short sentences can give relief to communities were questioned by Mr Ewart. He said while this was “obviously true” in its own terms, it “needs to be balanced against the question of whether a short-term sentence does more harm than good”.

He added: “The overall question of community safety might be compromised more by a short sentence than not.”

The bill would introduce a presumption against sentences of six months or less and see sheriffs forced to provide clear reasons for handing down such a disposal.

The SNP administration instead wants to make greater use of tough custodial sentences, but says it is not a tactic to reduce overcrowding.

The prison service deals with about 8,000 criminals a year serving these shorter sentences.