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The Automatic Early Release and Supervision of Prisoners in Scotland

Document Cited authorities 7 Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date01 January 2016
Date01 January 2016
DOI10.3366/elr.2016.0327
Pages94-99
THE <a href="https://vlex.co.uk/vid/prisoners-control-of-release-808401585">PRISONERS (CONTROL OF RELEASE) (SCOTLAND) ACT 2015</a>

The Prisoners and Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Act 1993 allowed for long-term prisoners – those subject to determinate sentences of four years or more and life sentences – to apply for release on parole at the half-way stage or to be “automatically” released on non-parole licence at the two-thirds stage of their sentence. Any decision to release prisoners before the two-thirds stage was taken by the Parole Board for Scotland, which also set all licence conditions, including statutory supervision in the community until the end of the sentence (unless otherwise revoked). Released prisoners who breached their licence conditions could be recalled to prison to serve the remaining period of their sentence, but otherwise the aim was for a period of monitoring and supervision in the community prior to sentence completion.

However, the Scottish Parliament has recently enacted the Prisoners (Control of Release) (Scotland) Act 2015 in order to end the right of certain long-term prisoners to automatic early release at the two-thirds stage of their custodial sentence, in the event that any parole hearing is unsuccessful. The Scottish Government's rationale for the reform was to ensure that those deemed ineligible for parole would remain in custody for the full term, thereby enhancing public safety. To inform its deliberations on the preceding Bill,1

Prisoners (Control of Release) (Scotland) Bill, available at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_Bills/Prisoners%20(Scotland)%20Bill/b54s4-introd.pdf .

the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee took written and oral evidence from government, academics, and voluntary, private, and public sector agencies during early 2015. The author was one of those asked to give evidence, during which she drew on her and colleagues' recent research into compliance with licence conditions and supervision requirements on release.2

M Barry, B Weaver, K Moodie, and L Piacentini, Regulating Justice: The Dynamics of Compliance and Breach in Criminal Justice Social Work in Scotland (2015), ESRC grant number ES/J02340X/1.

 This two year study (2013–2015) included interviews with 125 professionals and 250 offenders (sixty-nine of the latter being men on parole or non-parole licence, extended sentences,3

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 s 86 allowed courts to impose extended sentences of statutory supervision in the community in cases where the courts deem that the standard period on parole or non-parole licence would be insufficient to protect the public from certain high-risk offenders.

 or life licence)

As originally drafted, the Bill sought to end automatic early release for sex offenders serving determinate sentences of four years or more and other offenders serving determinate sentences of ten years or more.4

Scottish Government, Prisoners (Control of Release) (Scotland) Bill: Policy Memorandum (2014).

Such prisoners would then be released “cold” into the community (without supervision). However, pressure from expert witnesses appearing before the Justice Committee prompted a somewhat hurried U-turn by the government. To avoid the accusation of unjustifiable discrimination against sex offenders, the government brought forward amendments at stage two to widen the net to cover all prisoners serving sentences of four years or more. In addition, as a result of criticism during stage one deliberations that the government was denying such prisoners constructive supervision on release, it was agreed that a statutory six month period of supervision would be mandatory on release for those not given extended sentences. Those on extended sentences would remain in prison for the whole of their sentence and then serve the extended part in the community. However, whilst the...

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