Victims must take precedence amid plans to free inmates early, ministers warned

The safety of victims of crime “must take precedence”, ministers have been warned after the Government announced plans for another early prisoner release scheme.

Victim Support Scotland raised concerns after Justice Secretary Angela Constance set out plans on Thursday for the emergency release of inmates in a bid to ease overcrowding in Scotland’s jails.

With 8,363 inmates locked up across Scotland, she said there is now a “critical risk” to the “continued safe and effective operation” of the prison estate.

She has proposed six phases of an early release scheme – with two next month, from November 11-13 and then November 25-27.

There would then be further early releases of prisoners in December this year and again in January, February and March of 2026.

Victim Support Scotland (VSS) said it has consistently provided feedback on early release measures.

Chief executive Kate Wallace said the charity is prioritising making victims aware if they will be impacted by the releases.

She added: “It is urgent that the Scottish Government engage with VSS, and other key voluntary organisations working in this field, to determine viable longer-term solutions.

“Given that more people are being convicted for crimes that require longer sentences, including rises in serious sexual offences, we think that more capacity in prisons has to be part of the solution.

“The rights and safety of victims and public safety must take precedence in these deliberations.”

The latest plans for releasing prisoners early come less than a year after MSPs passed legislation to reduce the amount of time offenders given sentences of four years or less spend in jail – allowing them to automatically be freed after serving two-fifths of their sentence.

Ms Constance said this legislation, passed in November 2024, and other measures had been “essential in easing pressure on our prisons”.

Prisoners serving a sentence of four years or less who are within 180 days of their original release date will now be considered for early release.

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr expressed support for VSS.

He said: “These damning comments from Victim Support Scotland sum up how the SNP’s relentless weakening of the justice system is failing victims.

“VSS have warned on numerous occasions that the SNP’s mass prisoner release scheme put community safety at risk and betrayed victims, but they are being shamefully ignored.

“The early release of dangerous offenders during the pandemic led to widespread reoffending, yet ministers repeated the error last year and plan to continue doing so several times over the next seven months.

“The Cabinet Secretary’s reluctance to spell out in her statement to Parliament that there will be seven tranches of this latest early release plan illustrates how unpopular and unsustainable this policy is.

“This crisis is of the SNP’s own making, not least their total failure to open much-needed new jails on time and on budget.”

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “I absolutely recognise that the early release of prisoners can be a cause for concern for victims.

“Prisoners convicted of sex offences, domestic abuse offences, or who have unspent convictions for domestic abuse, or those subject to non-harassment orders will not be released.

“Victims who have already signed up to the victim notification scheme (VNS) will be told automatically if there is a change to the release date of the prisoner in their case.

“For those not part of the VNS, they can still join the scheme, contact the Scottish Prison Service directly, or have one of four victim support organisations work on their behalf to ensure they are provided with information on any change in release date.

“A briefing paper has been published to ensure that MSPs, victim support organisations and the wider public have the information they need.

“Public safety and protecting victims and their families is paramount, and I welcome the opportunity to continue discussions with Victim Support Scotland on the measures required to establish a sustainable prison population.”