AN expert has called out an “inaccurate” Scottish media claim that the SNP “wants to ban all prison sentences of less than five years”.
Dr Hannah Graham, a criminology academic at the University of Stirling, spoke out after a report in the Scottish Sun said that SNP ministers “want to ban all prison sentences of less than five years” and are “set to speak to the UK Government about amending the law”.
The proposal reportedly came from Scotland’s Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission.
However, Graham – one of the commissioners – rejected the claim that they had recommended ending all prison terms of less than five years.
“This article is inaccurate,” she said.
“The Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission recommended a prohibition on short prison sentences of under 12 months, with limited exceptions – not a ban on all sentences under five years.”
Graham further shared the commission’s Justice That Works report, which was published in February and does not call for a ban on prison sentences of less than five years.
Instead, the report states: “Short prison sentences are not effective at reducing reoffending and often destabilise lives by disrupting housing, employment, treatment and family ties. Community sentences offer a more effective route to rehabilitation but are not consistently prioritised.
“Sentencing decisions in individual cases remain a matter for the independent judiciary.
“A move toward prohibiting custodial sentences under 12 months – with limited exceptions – and in the meantime extending the presumption against short sentences to 24 months would support more consistent decision-making.”
Last week, Justice Secretary Neil Gray announced an eight-week consultation on changes to the prison system in a bid to reduce the burden on the estate.
Overcrowding has become an issue in Scottish prisons, with 8459 people locked up despite an operating capacity of 7805 across the country’s jails.
Gray announced Government plans to increase the definition of “short-term sentences” to less than five years, instead of four.
Such a change would have the effect of allowing those serving a sentence of less than five years to be released after just 30% of their term.
The Government also proposed to release long-term prisoners on licence after serving two-thirds of their sentence, instead of the current date of six months before the planned end of incarceration, which Gray described as a “more proportionate approach”.
“I recognise that these proposed changes are bold and hope this can contribute to thoughtful debate on the consequences of not addressing a rising prison population and also the outcomes of any sentence for a crime committed,” the Justice Secretary said.
