The Scottish Conservatives have branded SNP plans to release a thousand prisoners early between now and the 2026 Holyrood election a “shameful betrayal of crime victims”.
John Swinney’s MSPs, with the support of the Scottish Greens, last night voted through the proposal, which is their answer to prison overcrowding.
Shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr is now calling on the First Minister to guarantee that no prisoners who have assaulted a police officer are eligible for early release, backing a campaign launched by the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents and the Scottish Police Federation earlier this week.
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr MSP said: “The SNP’s early release of a thousand prisoners between now and the next election is a shameful betrayal of victims.
“The Nationalists’ crusade to empty Scotland’s jails is their only solution to an overcrowding crisis which they have created.
“This reckless, sticking-plaster response not only endangers public safety but undermines independent judicial sentencing.
“John Swinney must heed the calls from the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents and the Scottish Police Federation that early release should be forbidden for anyone who attacks a police officer.
“Anyone convicted of assaulting a police officer must serve their sentence in full. Indeed, the Scottish Conservatives have long called for SNP ministers to double the sentences for those who attack any of our brave emergency workers.
“It’s high time that the SNP finally produced a long-term strategy to tackle record prison numbers whilst ensuring that there’s enough capacity by delivering the long overdue new jails in Glasgow and the Highlands.”