The public have urged Ministers to scrap the automatic early release of prisoners – despite the SNP not putting it as an option in their Bail and Release consultation.
At least 24 people supported ending the practice, with a further five expressing concerns. By contrast, just four people supported lowering the automatic early release threshold with no other changes.
The Scottish Conservatives collated the figures through public responses to the consultation and a Freedom of Information request.
Nicola Sturgeon previously supported ending the practice, but a sharp U-turn from the SNP means they now want to lower the threshold to just a third of the way through prison sentences.
The SNP launched the consultation with a view to doing so – but the responses indicate a high level of public hostility to automatic early release.
One member of the public described being “appalled” by automatic early release, which they said was a “terrible thing”. Another described the practice as “outrageous”.
The Scottish Conservatives have called for these members of the public to be heard, and for automatic early release to be scrapped for good.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Jamie Greene MSP, said: “The public have made their thoughts on this consultation loud and clear – automatic early release must end.
“The fact that people have gone out their way to call for an end to the practice, despite the SNP never making it an option, shows just how out of touch the SNP are with public opinion.
“The SNP have constantly put the wishes of criminals ahead of the needs of victims, and sentencing discount schemes, such as automatic early release, are leaving victims as an afterthought.
“When dangerous criminals are handed a prison sentence by our courts, it is vital that their sentence is served in full.
“That is why the Scottish Conservatives are committed to ending automatic early release, and ensuring that it is victims, not criminals, who are at the heart of our justice system.”
Notes
Nicola Sturgeon previously supported ending automatic early release completely. In 2015, Sturgeon said: ‘Our objective remains to end the policy of automatic early release completely’. However, automatic early release remains in place for criminals sentenced to four years or less in Scotland. (Official Report, 2 April 2015, link).
Despite this promise, automatic early release remains in place in Scotland. For all criminals sentenced to four years or less, they are released automatically at the halfway point of their sentence, meaning the average time spent in prison by a criminal sentenced to four years or less is just 137 days. (Scottish Government, Prison and Parole, 10 January 2020, link; Scottish Government FOI, 3 February 2022).
The SNP did not even make it an option to end automatic early release in their consultation on this issue. The consultation suggested: “Automatic early release changes to earlier in the sentence, but the individual is initially subject to conditions and monitoring, until the half-way point”, “Automatic early release changes to earlier in the sentence, nothing else changes” or “No change: automatic early release remains half way through the sentence.” (Bail and Release from Custody Consultation, 25 March 2022, link).
Instead, the consultation proposes lowering automatic early release to the third point. The SNP Government’s consultation states of their proposals ‘short-term prisoners could be automatically released earlier than the half-way point of their sentence, e.g. at the 1/3 point.’ (Bail and Release from Custody Consultation, 15 November 2021, link).
More people supported ending automatic early release than lowering the point of automatic early release with no other changes. Including published and non-published responses obtained through a freedom of information request, at least 24 people expressed support for ending automatic early release, with a further 5 responses expressing scepticism about the concept of automatic early release. This is despite it not being an option available to select in the consultation. Meanwhile, only 4 people supported changing automatic early release to earlier in the sentence with nothing else changing. (Bail and Release from Custody Consultation, 25 March 2022, link; Scottish Government FOI response, 4 May 2022, available on request).