Breaking the cycle: Here's how to tackle Scotland’s growing prison population

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Angela Constance, is currently working on plans that will see the emergency release of an estimated 550 prisoners starting at the end of June.  The Wise Group, a social enterprise, will stand with the Scottish Government to offer whatever support we can as individuals are freed early – just as we did during the Covid pandemic. 

But while this action is necessary to ease the current pressure facing the Scottish Prison Service, it’s not a long-term solution.  Scotland’s justice system needs reform. 

Discussing this can be uncomfortable. But ensuring we have a resilient justice system that tackles overcrowding in our prisons, cuts reoffending, and puts the lives of those affected at the centre, benefits everyone. 

At the Wise Group, we provide voluntary support to men leaving prison after serving sentences of four years or less.

Our New Routes programme sees experienced mentors across Scotland work with individuals in the six months before they are released to help them prepare for life on the outside. We are there as they leave the prison gates, and in the six months that follow, to support them as they reintegrate with their families and communities.  Providing assistance to people as they begin to re-establish themselves is vital. 

This support, at such a critical time, can make all the difference in stopping someone reoffending and finding themselves back in prison. We know that fixing our justice system is more than just a justice issue – and we need to tackle the deep and complex issues faced by people and communities. 

Throughout 2020 and 2021, the New Routes programme helped 1,589 prison leavers reintegrate back into their communities. On average, it costs £40,000 a year to house someone in a Scottish prison. At the Wise Group our voluntary throughcare costs a fraction of this per person. 

Statistics also show that it works.  The reconviction rate of those released from custody in Scotland was 39 per cent in 2019-20. This is significantly higher than the 9 per cent reconviction rate of those who complete our throughcare services. 

Scotland already has one of the highest prison populations per head in western Europe, but breaking the cycle of reoffending does more than just cut reoffending and deliver those savings to the public purse – It alleviates pressure on a range of public services including health, welfare and social work.  

Through our New Routes programme, we have helped thousands of individuals. Our relational mentoring provides person-centred support, ensuring that each individual has their needs met.   This means we support people with their initial needs which can include providing clothing, setting them up with a GP and helping them navigate the social security system. 

We also work with them and their families to help with the readjustment as they rejoin the family unit or household. And through our strong links and collaboration partnerships we can offer access to additional services as required. 

We understand that when someone loses their liberty it impacts all aspects of their lives. It can lead to further debt, a breakdown in relationships, the loss of housing and employment. For some, the justice system is a route to poverty. 

This means that throughcare for prisoners is not just a justice issue. Instead ensuring the people we work with stay out of prison is a multi-issue challenge.  We know that the top five needs of people leaving prison are: finance, employment, behaviour, mental health and socialising. 

Like tackling poverty, addressing problems in Scotland’s justice system cannot be hamstrung by single-issue thinking.  That is why our mentors work with each individual to assess their specific needs and those of their families.  And because it is voluntary, it means each person is choosing to make this change rather than being forced to. 

New Routes is not the only lever we have to ensure those who work with us have the best chance going forward.  As a multi-service social enterprise we can work offer those who work with us a range of programmes. For many the cycle of poverty can seem unescapable, and this can lead to the initial offending as well as reoffending. 

Many of those who are in prison are not bad people. For many it is poor choices combined with life circumstances. Breaking that cycle gives individuals the best chance of staying out of prison in the future. 

Through our relational mentoring we can ensure those issues such as poverty and addiction are addressed as well as providing role models.   For some the practical support we offer in helping people to reintegrate is the most important step. But for others having someone they can talk to and share their fears is something that they’ve never had access to before. 

Overcrowding in Scotland’s prisons is a problem. But it’s not just a justice problem.  Keeping Scotland’s prison population down doesn’t just benefit those facing incarceration, it benefits their families and their communities in the longer term. 

 Sean Duffy is chief executive of the Wise Group, a social enterprise working to lift people out of poverty. It builds bridges to opportunity for the most vulnerable in our society through mentoring support, employment, skills, and energy advice.