London – Hundreds of prisoners will be released in Scotland as part of a broader emergency response to relieve the loading of overcrowded prisons throughout the United Kingdom.
“We have been administering an extremely high and complex prison population for more than a year, exerting considerable pressure on all those who live and work in our establishments,” said a spokesman for the Prison Service of Scotland to NBC News on Tuesday by email by email , after almost almost. 400 prisoners were released.
Scotland prisons housed almost 8,000 prisoners every day in 2024, an increase of 6% in the previous year, according to their government statistics.
“In line with the trends observed in other parts of the United Kingdom, the prison population of Scotland has grown significantly in recent years and, consequently, this increase has impacted prisons and the broader justice system,” said a spokesman for the Scottish government to NBC News on Tuesday.
Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, but, like Wales and Northern Ireland, it has its own semi -autonomous government with broad powers on areas that include medical care, education and law. The British Parliament in London.
The prison population throughout the United Kingdom was just over 97,000 people in March 2024, according to the most recent British government data that projected that this number grew around 4,500 each year, while the prisons remained “almost full”, declared.
In response, the United Kingdom government launched last year an important review of its judgment laws and allowed judges to criminals for sentences to house arrest. He also released more than 1,700 prisoners in England and Wales in September.
According to emergency legislation approved last November, Scottish inmates convicted to less than four years are eligible for early release after completing 40% of their mandate, unless those convicted of domestic abuse or sexual crimes.
This means that between 260 and 390 short -term prisoners will be released for a period of six weeks starting Tuesday.
The new legislation, which entered into force on February 11, “will bring a sustained reduction to the numbers of the prisoners so that the prison heritage can continue to function effectively,” said the government spokesman.
Early liberation is expected to reduce the prison population by 5%, although the Government has also recognized that the new law is not a complete solution for overpopulated prisons.
Another 470 Scottish inmates were released at the beginning of the prison last August, but 61 ended up in custody before their original planned release date, according to the data of the Scotland Prison Service.
“While it is not a complete solution, this law will bring a sustained reduction to prisoners so that prison heritage can continue to function effectively,” said the Scottish Secretary of Justice Angela Constance in a press release in January .
But early liberation could be “distressing for the victims of crime” and “ask questions and cause concern,” Constance added.
In response, the Police Service of Scotland has urged victims to register in a joint scheme with the support of the Victims Scotland, a beneficial organization that provides support to those affected by the crime, so that they are notified if the date of Liberation from your offender changes.
The beneficial organization told NBC News in a statement on Tuesday that there were no “improvements” for the main mechanism aimed at informing victims since the new legislation was approved.
“The last time the prisoners were released early, only 2% of the victims were notified,” said Kate Wallace, a victim of Scotland’s executive director.
He added that the early launch would have a “deeply harmful impact on the trust of the victims and the confidence in the justice system” if the number of victims contacted did not increase this time.
The spokesman for the Scottish Penitentiary Service He said he would work with the government and the justice sector to analyze “all possible actions that will deliver a manageable population” in their prisons.
The support and rehabilitation of prisoners would continue to reduce “their risk of recidivism and help build safer communities in Scotland,” he added.
