THE early release of prisoners in Scotland has come under an unprecedented attack from sheriffs after a serial offender was freed less than a third of the way into his sentence.
Sheriff Robert Dickson yesterday said he could not assure the public that they would be protected when the punishments being handed down by courts are "overruled" by prison staff who are able to release inmates early under a home detention curfew (HD
C).
The Scotsman understands that Sheriff Dickson, who is president of the Sheriffs' Association, was also echoing growing concern about HDCs, which were introduced two years ago to ease overcrowding.
His blast, delivered during the case of Jason Jarvie, who vandalised a house while on HDC, follows other attacks by sheriffs on the criminal justice system. Last month, Sheriff Kevin Drummond said the practice of early release was bringing the judicial system into disrepute and making his sentences meaningless.
After being freed early, Jarvie, 20, threw paint on to the house's front windows and the garden path, scrawling the words "grass" and "young mob".
He had been locked up for 15 months on 14 March last year for a string of offences including violence, dishonesty, public disorder and drugs misuse.
But he was allowed out on an HDC on 3 August, 2007 after just four and a half months behind bars – despite having a history of repeatedly breaching court orders to curb his freedom.
Within weeks, Jarvie caused £150 of damage to a house in Airdrie, while still on probation and subject to the order.
Sitting at Airdrie Sheriff Court, Sheriff Dickson told the repeat offender that society was entitled to expect that the court's 15-month sentence "would allow some respite from your repeated criminal activities".
He said that when Jarvie should have been behind bars and homeowners "protected from your mindless behaviour", "some nameless official has chosen to ignore a judicial decision, to turn an apparent blind eye to your past record of ignoring curfews and to allow you the freedom to damage the property of somebody you did not know."
He said sheriffs could "no longer give any assurance to the public that they are going to be protected for any particular period" if officials not fully briefed on the case were able to overrule the court's decision and free someone early.
Nearly 4,000 prisoners have been released under a curfew order up to six months earlier than they otherwise would.
The policy was recently expanded to ease chronic overcrowding in Scotland's jails, with about 380 prisoners currently free.
A prison governor or senior manager decides who should be released on HDC. The prison service says only low-risk prisoners could be released.
Bill Aitken, Conservative justice spokesman, said the policy was an attack on judicial independence. "When senior sheriffs are having to speak out, you know we now live in the SNP's soft-touch Scotland," he said.
A Scottish Government spokesman said judicial independence was a "fundamental cornerstone of the Scottish criminal justice system", and insisted HDCs were helping to reintegrate offenders into society.
WHAT NEXT?THE Scottish Government yesterday said it will consult with sheriffs and judges on the creation of a Sentencing Council. The purpose would be to provide sheriffs with more guidance as to the type of sentences that would be appropriate for different crimes, to increase transparency and consistency.
The SNP pledged to create a Sentencing Council in last year's election manifesto.
The full article contains 584 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
