Meeting of the Parliament 24 February 2016
The member is factually wrong, as the prison population has declined over the past couple of years. The level has stabilised, but there has been a decline in recent years, so he is incorrect on that point.
The member will be aware that the programme that we have set out for building the new female custodial estate will considerably reduce capacity in that estate. A key part of that is the greater focus that we are placing on community alternative disposals, which we know are much more effective in tackling offending behaviour, as a means by which we can seek to reduce our prison population overall. That will be a key part of the approach that we take following the redesign of the custodial estate, alongside a greater focus on using more effective and robust community disposals. Such an approach will help to reduce reoffending rates in Scotland—which are, incidentally, at a 16-year low as a result of the progress that we have made in recent years. I want to build on and accelerate that progress, which will assist us in reducing the female—and male—prison estate population overall.