Originally Posted by
Mibbes Aye
The Scottish Parliament legislated in 2000 (IIRC) for a presumption against short custodial sentences - basically if it was going to be prison for less than three months then courts should use another form of disposal. The three months became 12 months a year or two before lockdown. On the whole it attracts ceoss-party support, as far as I know, though the SNP were in overall power and they should be acknowledged for that.
There are pros and cons (I side with the pros generally). There is evidence that supports the argument that those who serve short (12 months or less) sentences in custody are more likely to reoffend than those who are given community payback orders (a range of non-custodial options such as unpaid work, supervision, treatment for substance misuse etc).
There is also an inherent instability for people caught in a loop of offend/custody/liberation/offend that traps people and impacts massively on them, people around them and people they come into contact with.
One of the downsides is that the legislation is for a presumption, so the sheriff has the final say, which can make it inconsistent in its application. Probably the biggest issue is the amount of additional and under-resourced work it creates for local authorities. Their criminal justice social workers routinely prepared reports to court to inform the sentencing process but were not adequately resourced for a big increase in community payback orders, each one requiring an allocated social worker to supervise. Releasing prisoners with no supports or structures simply drives up reoffending.
There are also big, big issues for prisoners with longer sentences. The Prison Service has eye-wateringly bad sickness rates, which means any work to gear people up for post-release gets sacrificed to free up officers to do core tasks. Prisoners also then have less time for recreation, which takes a huge toll on their wellbeing and ability to cope.
I get that most people think prison should be about punishment and protecting the public, with maybe a small element of progression or rehabilitation. Tackling reoffending means making and taking unpopular decisions though. And tackling prison deaths means dropping all the Daily Mail pish about cushy lives inside.
In the past I've had the opportunity to spend some time in different parts of the prison system (on a professional basis). At its worst, which it ofen is, it's not about punishment and protection - it's far, far worse. It feels like the banal, steady and remorseless erosion of people's souls.
I'm all too aware that people do bad things and therefore serious things must happen to them, but the current set-up doesn't do that and it will mean continuing high rates of prison deaths.
