Committee
Criminal Justice Committee 11 March 2026 [Draft]
11 Mar 2026 · S6 · Criminal Justice Committee
Item of business
Criminal Justice System (Challenges for Session 7)
Sara Snell
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We are strongly of the opinion that prison should be a measure of last resort and that the people who come to prison should be those who present the greatest risk to the public and who cannot safely be managed by alternatives. We think that many of the recommendations in the sentencing and penal policy commission’s report, which look at the whole journey from early interventions to parole and release for those who have served sentences, offer really good solutions.When sheriffs or sentencers have looked at every alternative for the people who are in front of them and have genuinely demonstrated that those alternatives are not appropriate, either because they are not available at all or they are not available in the area, that begins to gather a body of data that allows us to understand where some of the shortfalls might be with alternative sentences.I am quite new to the Scottish system, but I have been told that an impact assessment was done before the removal of the three-quarters release point for long-term sentences—automatic release into the community is now six months before the end of the sentence—and I am fairly sure that some of the increase in the long-term population has come as a result of that policy. For me, in considering future legislation, we need to understand what the impact would be and then, if that legislation goes ahead, commensurate plans should be made to cope with the increase in population. Alternatively, we need to think differently about the legislation that is proposed.To answer your specific question, I would try to remove from incarceration the people who present the least risk to the public. Later today, you will talk to the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, who has innovative recommendations on the potential use of biometrics to keep the public safe, which obviously is everybody’s major concern, through alternative measures to traditional incarceration. There are several measures. There is no single answer.
In the same item of business
09:30
The Convener
SNP
Our next item of business is the continuation of our series of evidence sessions with different inspectorates and commissioners within our remit. Our aim is ...
Sara Snell (HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland)
Thank you for inviting His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons in Scotland to give evidence at the Criminal Justice Committee. I should like to begin by explai...
The Convener
SNP
It is very pleasing to hear that there is some positive news, although there are also significant challenges. I will begin our questions by asking about how ...
Sara Snell
Calum will talk in a little more detail about this, as he is very much one of our leads in doing the day-to-day work of following up recommendations. I will ...
Calum McCarthy (HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland)
Good morning. We have a process in place. Following the publication of one of our reports that includes recommendations, we ask the prison to give us an upda...
The Convener
SNP
Thank you. That is a helpful practical overview of the process of monitoring. Is it fair to assume that the size of the prison population, as it is at the mo...
Sara Snell
That is a really interesting question. Although one’s attention has to be focused somewhat on firefighting and making space to bring people in from court as ...
The Convener
SNP
How can the prison population be reduced?
Sara Snell
We are strongly of the opinion that prison should be a measure of last resort and that the people who come to prison should be those who present the greatest...
The Convener
SNP
Thank you. I open up the discussion to questions from colleagues.
Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
Good morning. I have a question on staffing and the officers in our prisons. Your recent inspection activity has highlighted that there are considerable pres...
Sara Snell
There are a range of reasons why staff might be short in a particular prison. That might be a recruitment or retention issue or it might be a sickness absenc...
Liam Kerr
Con
It is a very interesting answer, which I will follow up on, if you do not mind. You mentioned recruitment and retention as well as issues with exhaustion. Ha...
Sara Snell
We see some good practice, where governors have recognised the challenges of a new member of staff coming in and have made a real attempt to show people the ...
Liam Kerr
Con
Have you picked up on any impact on the safety of staff and prisoners?
Sara Snell
We were trying to look at the level of incidents of violence. Stephen, do you have some statistics on that?
Stephen Sandham (HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland)
There is no direct evidence that overcrowding and pressures on staff are leading to an increase in violence. If anything, the current statistics for the year...
Liam Kerr
Con
I am very grateful.
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
I want to ask about prisoners’ needs and rehabilitation. We are aware that the needs of the prison population have changed with the demographics. Are you sat...
Sara Snell
I almost want to frame the question differently and link it to what we said earlier about who should be in prison. Prisons are doing an extraordinary amount ...
Stephen Sandham
I will follow up on that. Research that was published by the Scottish Government in 2022 highlighted that 15 per cent of the prison population had long-term ...
Rona Mackay
SNP
How has the situation changed over the decades? I realise that you will not have exact figures, but has that always been the case or is the situation much mo...
Stephen Sandham
I do not have figures that would give you a comparison. The research shows that the issue was significant in 2022, and the 2024 survey—which was self-selecte...
Rona Mackay
SNP
It is a good illustration of the challenges that are faced.I would like to move on to the SPAROW report on women’s custody units, which you mentioned in your...
Sara Snell
We have conducted two inspections. HMP Stirling owns the Bella and Lilias units, if you like, so the governor of Stirling is responsible for them, with unit ...
Rona Mackay
SNP
One of the issues that came up in the report was the tensions between prison staff and the women. The wearing of prison uniforms did not help in that situati...
Sara Snell
Absolutely. As I said in my opening statement, one of the things that Scotland has done well is having the vision for, the investment in and the courage to t...
Rona Mackay
SNP
That is an example of bureaucracy getting in the way. It would surely not cost anything to fix and would require just changing the practice of how the units ...
Sara Snell
Do not give up hope, Rona.