Dangerous prisoners released to ease crowding, says Labour

MacAskill is accused over prison ‘meltdown’

By Ryan Crighton

Published:

The Scottish Government was accused last night of releasing dangerous criminals from prison to ease overcrowding as figures showed a huge rise in the number of offenders being hauled back to jail.

The Press and Journal can reveal today that the number of prisoners returned to custody for breaking the conditions of their parole has shot up by more than 700% since 2004.

Papers released under freedom of information laws show 177 prisoners who secured early release have been recalled so far this year – compared with just 24 prisoners in the whole of 2004.

Last night, Labour blamed the “shocking” rise on overcrowding in Scotland’s jails and claimed the Scottish justice system was in “meltdown” under Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.

The party believes parole boards are being put under pressure to free up more space in the country’s crammed cells and, as a result, criminals who are still dangerous are being freed.

There are also fears that Scotland’s worst sex offenders are not being properly rehabilitated. The papers reveal that 20% of Peterhead Prison’s inmates have tasted freedom but have had to be sent back.

Those released on licence can be recalled for breaking their conditions. Offenders freed early with electronic tags can also be recalled for breaking their curfews.

There are now 7,999 prisoners in Scotland, according to the latest statistics from the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).

Reviled

However, 614 of those are prisoners who have been let out on licence but breached the conditions of their release and were sent back to jail.

The figure equates to an average prisoner recall rate of 7% in Scotland’s jails, but the rate in Peterhead Prison – home to the country’s most reviled murderers and child molesters – is almost three times as high, at 20%.

At present, 60 of the Buchan jail’s 300 inmates are back behind bars after breaking the conditions of their release. The revelations come just weeks after the SPS announced it was revamping the Peterhead programme for sex offenders.

The current programme, formerly known as Stop, was once described as the “jewel in the crown” of the Scottish Prison Service. Its international reputation was at the centre of the case for retaining Peterhead jail when it was threatened with closure a few years ago.

However, Stop has come under intense criticism in recent month after a damaging report by the former chief inspector of Scottish prisons, Andrew McLellan.

In his final report, he said there were not enough rehabilitation places, many of the most serious offenders would not sign up, and there was little evidence that the scheme worked. It also emerged there was only a 6% difference in reoffending between those who did and did not finish the course.

Last night, Labour justice spokesman Richard Baker said he feared parole boards were being put under pressure to release more people.

He said: “I really hope these criminals are not being released because of the overcrowding problems in Scottish jails, which has really escalated under the current SNP government.

“However, this huge swell in the number of offenders being recalled suggests that people who are still a danger to the public are being released simply to free up space. The justice system is in meltdown under Kenny MacAskill.”

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken believes the leap is down to increased political scrutiny.

He said: “While these figures are disturbing, I rather suspect that increased political scrutiny has made the SPS more conscious of the need to operate the recall mechanism where there are breaches of conditions.

“This is not a bad thing.”

An SPS spokesman said the rise in the number of recalled prisoners was due mainly to the increasing number of prisoners passing through Scottish jails. “In the majority of cases, the people haven’t committed another offence – they have breached a condition or several conditions of their release,” he said.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said rejected Labour’s suggestions. “These claims are nonsense,” she said. “The parole board in an independent body and operates as such. In fact, the number of people released on parole by the parole board decreased from 44% in 2004 to 30% in 2007-08.

“The increase in the number of recalls from licence is partly a simple reflection of the continued rise in the numbers of prisoners.

“It also reflects the fact that those released must abide by their licence conditions or expect to be dealt with seriously. Those who reoffend or breach their licence conditions on other grounds face being recalled to prison.”