Not all victims will be notified of emergency release of offenders, MSPs told

Victims will not be automatically notified that their offenders will be released as part of Scottish Government plans to ease pressure on prisons, a support agency has said.

The Scottish Government has approved measures to release around 550 prisoners in four waves, starting at the end of this month, due to high prison populations.

Holyrood Justice Secretary Angela Constance told the Criminal Justice Committee in May the measures would sit alongside a “streamlined” process for notifying victims that would allow those not registered with the victim notification scheme to be made aware.

Victim Support Scotland (VSS) has said it will be for victims to seek them out and ask if the person who committed a crime against them will be among those to be released.

For those not part of the notification scheme, they will have to contact VSS, who will then ask if the offender in their case has been released, according to Kate Wallace, the body’s chief executive.

“We are looking at communicating quite widely with people to make them aware they can come to us,” she said.

A list of offenders due to be released has been drafted and shared with some agencies, but not with VSS, Ms Wallace said.

“The process that’s been gone through is not coming from a place of making sure that every single victim of every single prisoner who’s going to be released will be notified of their release, ” she later added.

“The onus is on victims to come forward and ask for information.

“We have got concerns about those people who will not be aware and who, therefore, will not come forward.

“We expect that to be the majority of people, given the numbers that we know in terms of low take-up of victim notification and also – as this committee has highlighted – the lack of information around who is going to be released.”

Prisoners serving life sentences, or those who have committed sexual, domestic violence or terror-based offences, will not be released under the plans.

However, Ms Wallace said that those who are released may have a history of domestic violence.

Prison governors will also have a veto to prevent the release of an eligible prisoner whom they consider to be an “immediate risk” to a group or individual.

Regulations to allow the early release to go ahead are expected to be approved by Holyrood and should then come into force on June 13.

Prisoners with less than 45 days of their sentence left to serve will then be released on June 26 and 27, and those with 45-89 days left will walk free on July 3 and 4.

Inmates who have 90-134 days left to serve will be released on July 10 and 11, with the last group of prisoners – those who have 130 to 180 days left on their sentence – freed on July 17 and 18.

Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “We recognise victims’ concerns about the use of the emergency release power and can assure those affected that protecting the public remains an absolute priority.

“We are working with victim support organisations to increase victims’ awareness of how they can access information and ensuring that all victims who want to receive information about an offender’s release can do so, with the support of a victim support organisation if they wish.”