Thursday 08 May 2008 @ 12:12
Scottish Government
Scottish Government
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Government responds to prisons report
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill today reiterated his determination to develop a coherent penal policy for Scotland.
Mr MacAskill was responding to the findings of an Audit Scotland report into managing Scotland's prison population.
The report looks at some of the factors contributing to rising prison numbers and the impact overcrowding has on efforts to rehabilitate prisoners.
Based on present trends it concludes that Scotland's prisoner population - which is already one of the highest in Western Europe - will increase by almost 20 per cent by 2016/17.
Mr MacAskill said;
"While this report is to be welcomed we are already addressing a number of the recommendations as a matter of urgency. Many of the points raised are also being closely looked at by the independent prisons commission.
"We have already made some progress in terms of revitalising community penalties and making record investment in the prison estate. But we cannot progress as quickly on this agenda as I would like until we tackle the problems of prison overcrowding.
"I have always believed that prison should be for serious and dangerous offenders - which is why we are building three new prisons and committing record investment to our prison estate.
"However we can't just build our way out of the problem. For every prison being built it means one less hospital or school for our communities.
"The time offenders spend in prison should be used to work pro-actively with them to reduce their risk and propensity to re-offend. The SPS has impressive risk management programmes but progress is being hindered because the system is having to cope with severe pressures caused by ever increasing prisoner numbers.
"I remain committed to driving forward a modern penal policy that provides for the right mix of tough community penalties for less serious offenders and prison for dangerous and violent criminals.
"Our action plan to revitalise community penalties is being taken forward as a matter of urgency. Legislation to revitalise community service orders is being developed and we are pushing ahead with work involving those in the field to see how we can speed up the delivery and completion of CSOs.
"I am also looking forward to receiving the recommendations of the McLeish Commission at the end of next month. I am confident it can help provide a valuable springboard for future policy."
The outcome of the Scottish Government's review of community penalties was announced in November last year.
The remit of the independent prisons commission was announced to Parliament in September 2007.
Community sentences are available across all Community Justice Authorities. Availability of intervention programmes to support probation and those ex-prisoners subject to supervision on release largely reflects local priorities and circumstances.
Responsibility for operational delivery rests with local authorities who operate within the Best Value framework. As budgetholders for criminal justice social work funding, Community Justice Authorities are increasingly seeking to ensure that the most effective use is made of available funding.
Work is being taken forward to establish a robust performance framework for Community Justice Authorities. This includes measuring impacts on re-offending both between custody and the various community penalties at both a national and local CJA level. CJAs are required to submit an annual report of their performance against the framework of their three year strategic plans - the first of these for 2007-08 are now underway.
Related Information
Mr MacAskill was responding to the findings of an Audit Scotland report into managing Scotland's prison population.
The report looks at some of the factors contributing to rising prison numbers and the impact overcrowding has on efforts to rehabilitate prisoners.
Based on present trends it concludes that Scotland's prisoner population - which is already one of the highest in Western Europe - will increase by almost 20 per cent by 2016/17.
Mr MacAskill said;
"While this report is to be welcomed we are already addressing a number of the recommendations as a matter of urgency. Many of the points raised are also being closely looked at by the independent prisons commission.
"We have already made some progress in terms of revitalising community penalties and making record investment in the prison estate. But we cannot progress as quickly on this agenda as I would like until we tackle the problems of prison overcrowding.
"I have always believed that prison should be for serious and dangerous offenders - which is why we are building three new prisons and committing record investment to our prison estate.
"However we can't just build our way out of the problem. For every prison being built it means one less hospital or school for our communities.
"The time offenders spend in prison should be used to work pro-actively with them to reduce their risk and propensity to re-offend. The SPS has impressive risk management programmes but progress is being hindered because the system is having to cope with severe pressures caused by ever increasing prisoner numbers.
"I remain committed to driving forward a modern penal policy that provides for the right mix of tough community penalties for less serious offenders and prison for dangerous and violent criminals.
"Our action plan to revitalise community penalties is being taken forward as a matter of urgency. Legislation to revitalise community service orders is being developed and we are pushing ahead with work involving those in the field to see how we can speed up the delivery and completion of CSOs.
"I am also looking forward to receiving the recommendations of the McLeish Commission at the end of next month. I am confident it can help provide a valuable springboard for future policy."
The outcome of the Scottish Government's review of community penalties was announced in November last year.
The remit of the independent prisons commission was announced to Parliament in September 2007.
Community sentences are available across all Community Justice Authorities. Availability of intervention programmes to support probation and those ex-prisoners subject to supervision on release largely reflects local priorities and circumstances.
Responsibility for operational delivery rests with local authorities who operate within the Best Value framework. As budgetholders for criminal justice social work funding, Community Justice Authorities are increasingly seeking to ensure that the most effective use is made of available funding.
Work is being taken forward to establish a robust performance framework for Community Justice Authorities. This includes measuring impacts on re-offending both between custody and the various community penalties at both a national and local CJA level. CJAs are required to submit an annual report of their performance against the framework of their three year strategic plans - the first of these for 2007-08 are now underway.
Related Information
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/spc
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