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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Prison numbers 'must be tackled' | Prison numbers 'must be tackled' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Scotland must tackle its record high prison population through alternatives to jail, an independent review of criminal justice policy has said. | Scotland must tackle its record high prison population through alternatives to jail, an independent review of criminal justice policy has said. |
| The Scottish Prison Commission warned inmate numbers, already at about 8,000, would reach 8,700 by 2016, and said this must be cut to 5,000. | The Scottish Prison Commission warned inmate numbers, already at about 8,000, would reach 8,700 by 2016, and said this must be cut to 5,000. |
| The body said ministers should bring in a single community sentence, with a wide range of options. | The body said ministers should bring in a single community sentence, with a wide range of options. |
| These should be used to cut short-term prison sentences. | These should be used to cut short-term prison sentences. |
| The long-awaited report from the commission, headed by former Labour first minister Henry McLeish, said Scotland locked up more people than many other European countries, and that prisons were increasingly used for those who were "troubled and troubling rather than dangerous". | The long-awaited report from the commission, headed by former Labour first minister Henry McLeish, said Scotland locked up more people than many other European countries, and that prisons were increasingly used for those who were "troubled and troubling rather than dangerous". |
| The report, which made 23 recommendations, concluded: "High prison populations do not reduce crime. They are more likely to create pressures that drive reoffending than to reduce it." | The report, which made 23 recommendations, concluded: "High prison populations do not reduce crime. They are more likely to create pressures that drive reoffending than to reduce it." |
| The commission said gaining control over prison numbers had to be the first step, but added that new laws should be brought forward to force judges to impose a new community supervision sentence instead of a six-month jail term. | The commission said gaining control over prison numbers had to be the first step, but added that new laws should be brought forward to force judges to impose a new community supervision sentence instead of a six-month jail term. |
| 'Public distrust' | |
| Mr McLeish said the public still had to be kept safe from the most dangerous offenders by locking them up, but warned that Scotland's criminal justice policy had reached a crossroads. | Mr McLeish said the public still had to be kept safe from the most dangerous offenders by locking them up, but warned that Scotland's criminal justice policy had reached a crossroads. |
| He said: "Scotland has one possible future where its prisons hold only serious offenders, prison staff regularly and expertly deliver programmes that can affect change and there is a widely used and respected system of community-based sentences. | He said: "Scotland has one possible future where its prisons hold only serious offenders, prison staff regularly and expertly deliver programmes that can affect change and there is a widely used and respected system of community-based sentences. |
| "There is another possible future, one in which there are many more prisons, as overcrowded as those today. | |
| "Dedicated and skilled professionals lack support and suffer from low morale, the public's distrust of the criminal justice system reaches record levels and fragile communities are ignored. | |
| "We have to make a choice between these two futures." | "We have to make a choice between these two futures." |
| However, the Conservative justice spokesman, Bill Aitken, said: "Of course we must do much more to rehabilitate prisoners and continue rehabilitation on release - but if the ends of justice demand more prisons are needed, then we should build them." | |
| The commission recommended the setting up of a national sentencing council and community justice council to reform policy. | The commission recommended the setting up of a national sentencing council and community justice council to reform policy. |