We must stop sending more people to jail – what Justice Secretary told meeting

Scotland needs to stop sending so many people to prison, the Justice Secretary told campaigners last year, it has emerged.

Minutes of a meeting between Angela Constance and the Howard League – a leading prison reform organisation – in August showed concerns were raised about overpopulation in the prison estate.

According to the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), the prison population as of January 12 this year was 7,861, having dropped by about 100 over the previous month, compared to the operating capacity of 8,007.

Minutes of the meeting show, in a conversation about the prison population, the “(Justice) Secretary highlighted that the crux of the problem is we need to stop sending more people to custody”.

The minutes added: “It was agreed that there is a need to think out of the box and bold decisions are to be taken to solve this problem.”

Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Russell Findlay, who obtained the minutes through a freedom of information request, accused the Scottish Government of taking a “weak” stance on crime.

“This memo reveals the SNP’s real agenda when it comes to criminal justice,” he said.

“In public they claim to be on the side of victims. But in private they admit their true intention, which is to empty Scotland’s prisons and put criminals back on our streets.

“The Justice Secretary’s confession behind closed doors will come as no surprise to crime victims or the law-abiding majority of Scots who suffer the impact of the SNP’s pursuit of weak justice, which puts criminals first.”

The Scottish Government has pledged to replace the aged HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow with a new facility due to be opened in 2027.

In the meeting, Ms Constance was pushed on the opening date for the prison, and said the Government was “working towards” 2027.

But one of the Howard League delegation said “the problems at HMP Barlinnie cannot wait to be resolved till then and we need to ensure the estate can be managed till its replacement is in place”.

Ms Constance said in a statement on Sunday that the Scottish Government position is “crystal clear” – prisons “are necessary in society to punish, to protect, and to rehabilitate and reduce reoffending”.

But she added: “It is clear that action is needed to address Scotland’s high prison population.

“Community interventions are more effective than short prison sentences at addressing offending behaviour and breaking the cycles of reoffending.

“The removal of an offender’s liberty must always be available for our independent courts. To reduce reoffending we will continue to invest in our prisons as well as justice in the community, ultimately shifting the balance between custody and community.”