Scottish government explores foreign inmates transfer deal to fix prison issues
Scottish ministers start talks with UK officials about sending foreign criminals back to their home countries. The plan comes as part of wider efforts to deal with over-crowded prisons in Scotland
Scottish justice system faces tough choices as Angela Constance meets with UK-based officials to talk about sending foreign inmates back home (which could help with over-crowded jails)
The talks focus on quick-transfer rules for non-UK prisoners who make up about 7.6% of Scotlands prison population: around 629 people are foreign nationals and 325 of them got convicted for crimes
The discussion started after Russell Findlay from Scottish Tories suggested sending foreigners home instead of letting prisoners out early. A new law wants to change release time from half to 40% of sentence for people with four-year terms; this means about 390 people could leave jail by early-25
We are actively engaging with the UK Government to identify what the opportunities are to increase the efficiency of their proposed measures in Scotland
Last summerʼs try to fix things didnt work well - they let 477 people out but by fall one in ten were back in prison. Now Victim Support Scotlandʼs boss Kate Wallace asks for changes including:
- Governorʼs right to stop releases
- Better info-sharing with victims groups
- More money for electronic monitoring
The Scottish Tories think its not safe to just open prison gates‚ while UK government keeps control over who can be sent back to their home countries - no matter where theyʼre locked up in Britain
