Reducing the prison population- bill published

The Scottish Government has published the draft bill intended to support reduction in the prison population providing for automatic early release for most prisoners on short term sentences (less than 4 years) after serving 40% of their sentence. Those convicted of sex-based crimes and domestic abuse will be excluded.

This is the latest in a series of attempts to bring down the prison population in Scotland, currently one of the highest in Europe and standing at 8,273. The capacity of ourprisons is generally understood to be 8,008.

The bill will be progressed under emergency provisions and could be in force as early as February 2025.

The bill and the explanatory note is avaialable here.

The Financial Memorandum includes a fairly detailed calculation of additional costs associated with housing, mostly for the provision of homelessness services and temporary accommodation.