Scotland’s prisons are in crisis. There are now more prisoners than the operating capacity, and the Scottish parliament has approved an early release scheme. The incoming PM describes similar problems in England and Wales as ‘shocking’.
While this emergency measure was unavoidable, it failed to address the underlying issue. While prison populations have been rising in many countries, Scotland already has one of the highest populations in Europe. In this briefing, we analyse the scale of the problem and point to the urgent need for reform.
For successful prison reform, we might look to the Netherlands, which has halved its prison population. There was a widespread public acceptance that, in most cases, a prison sentence does more harm than good. They introduced shorter sentences, alternatives to prison, and, more specifically, tailored mental health support for those offenders who need it.
In this briefing, we argue that politicians must be brave. We reject what experts call penal populism: politicians implementing harsh policies that they think the public will like rather than following the evidence that harsh sentences solve little and perpetuate social problems. In Scotland, we also need to be bold. There are legitimate concerns about early release from victims’ groups that need to be addressed. Reform also needs to be wider than just our prisons. It includes the courts, NHS mental health services, social work and other related services.