Scottish Parliament – Feb. 20, 2025 – 1

S6M-16532.1: As an amendment to motion S6M-652 in the name of Angela Constance, Independent Review of Sentencing and Penal Policy), leave out from "Scotland" to end and insert "as a result of, non-exhaustively, significant and long-standing pre-COVID-19 pandemic court backlogs, a high remand population and a failure to timeously build additional prison capacity, Scotland’s prison system is now struggling to house the number of prisoners incarcerated and sentenced as a result of independent decisions made by judges;

further notes with disappointment that these capacity issues still persist, despite numerous Scottish Government policies, which were aimed at reducing the prison population, such as changes to automatic early release, which allows many offenders to leave prison after serving 40% of their sentence, a general presumption against short sentences, sentencing guidelines that treat under 25-year-olds differently and an increase in diversion from prosecution;

raises concerns that, despite repeated warnings about the need for new prisons, HMP Highland and HMP Glasgow are both delayed and over budget, with the former rising from £52 million to £209 million, and the latter increasing from £100 million to £998 million;

understands that reoffending rates were up 2.6% for the 2020-21 cohort;

recognises that one-in-eight of those released as a result of emergency early release reoffended, and believes that the role of the independence of the judiciary should not be undermined by government, and that any review of penal and sentencing policy should always prioritise victims over offenders."

Original motion(S6M-16532): That the Parliament notes that Scotland has one of the highest proportions of prisoners in Western Europe;

recognises the action that has been taken to establish a sustainable prison population and shift the balance between the use of custody and justice in the community, while protecting the public from harm;

acknowledges the need for an independent review of sentencing and penal policy to consider how imprisonment and community interventions are used;

further acknowledges the key role that the third sector can play in the effective delivery of justice services that reduce reoffending, and support rehabilitation and reintegration into society;

agrees that there is a need for strong partnership working and co-ordination between third sector organisations, justice social work and the Scottish Prison Service to provide support and improve outcomes for those leaving prison, and believes that the Parliament has an important role to play in discussing the use of imprisonment and the best means for addressing offending behaviour, by both effective prevention and appropriate rehabilitation, and for reducing crime and keeping communities safe.