New satellite technology is to be used to tag more offenders instead of sending them to jail.
The move is part of a raft of reforms aimed at cutting the number of people locked up in Scotland’s prisons.
The Scottish Government has signed a deal with a tech firm which will provide the new system.
A high-end GPS tracker will allow law enforcement officials to keep better tabs on offenders who have been spared jail.
Justice Secretary Keith Brown revealed the move yesterday to the Record.
Last week he revealed the Scottish Government planned to cut the number of people being sent to prison in a bid to tackle overcrowded jails.
About 7750 are currently in prison in Scotland – one of the largest incarceration rates in Europe.
Electronic tagging is managed in Scotland by security firm G4S. There are more than 1000 people tagged as an alternative to prison.
Brown said: “The reforms we’re consulting on are part of a much wider community justice agenda.
“This includes changes to how electronic monitoring can be used as part of a community order, providing additional safeguards.
“As part of this, we have secured a national contract to allow us to introduce GPS technology which could allow monitoring across wider geographical areas, including exclusion zones.
“There are complex issues to work through with this but I am committed to moving as quickly as we can so this technology can be used here.”
He added: “We are matching our ambition with investment. We already provide about £119million every year to drive real improvements.”
The Scottish Government also wants courts to make more use of Community Payback Orders (CPOs).
Research revealed those imposed with CPOs were less likely to reoffend than offenders who were locked up.
A criminologist has backed government plans to reduce Scotland’s prison population claiming packed jails damage society and tear apart families. Dr Cara Jardine’s book – Families, Imprisonment and Legitimacy – exposes how jail also punishes prisoners’ families and exacerbates social deprivation in communities, especially for women.
Dr Jardine said: “By overrelying on imprisonment to solve what are often social problems – such as poverty, trauma or addiction – we place an extremely heavy burden on families and risk making social inequalities worse.
“Families affected by imprisonment not only have to cope with disruption to their finances, housing, mental health, child care arrangements and relationships but they also often spend considerable amounts of time, money and effort supporting the person in prison.
“The families of people in prison are very often ignored or overlooked in discussions of criminal justice policy.
“Unfortunately this means we only have a partial picture of the true consequences of our very high prison numbers.
“Even a short prison sentence can be very damaging to families, as many are already experiencing poverty.
“We should be seriously concerned that our use of imprisonment can deepen social marginality.”
