Responding to comments from the Chief Inspector of Prisons that overcrowding in Scottish prisons is making Scotland a more dangerous place, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary Margaret Smith MSP has urged the Scottish Government to press ahead with a radical overhaul of sentencing policy in Scotland.

Commenting, Mrs Smith said:

“The Chief Inspector of Prisons’ observations entirely vindicate our campaign to scrap very short term prison sentences and replace them with tougher community sentences.

“Filling jails with very short term prisoners leads to overcrowding and means that the Scottish Prison Service cannot work with offenders to tackle their behaviour. This directly leads to more reoffending.

“Locking up offenders for a handful of days at a time does not help victims, as these offenders often go on to commit more crime. The Government needs to introduce tougher community sentences so that offenders can work to repay their communities.”