Under consideration PE2248: Stop prison overcrowding by changing how prisoners are released or sentenced

Background information

Long-term prisoners make up roughly 66% of Scotland's overall prison population, which is why previous emergency measures targeting only short-term inmates failed to resolve the overcrowding crisis.

To address this gap, the Scottish Government has launched an open consultation to legally change the rules for long-term prisoners. Under the current system, long-term prisoners are typically held until six months before the end of their sentence.

The new Scottish Government proposal would change this so that long-term prisoners serving more than five years would be automatically released after serving two-thirds of their sentence, serving the remaining third under strict community supervision and license conditions.

The petition is intended to support and encourage the same direction of reform proposed in the Scottish Government consultation, particularly the proposal that long-term prisoners serving more than five years should be automatically released after serving two-thirds of their sentence under strict licence conditions and community supervision.