Scottish Government 'considering' chemical castration of sex offenders
The report recommends a range of measures to try and reduce the prison population.
Scottish Government ministers are “considering” a report on chemically castrating sex offenders, which has been recommended south of the Border as a measure to reduce the prison population.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “England and Wales has experienced a significant rise in prison population, which illustrates that Scotland is not alone in facing complex challenges as a result of a rise in the prison population.
“There is no single reason for the increase and there is no single solution to the issue so we will consider the recommendations of the publication of the Independent Sentencing Review in England and Wales as part of our wider work to tackle this issue.
“In Scotland, an independent Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission is considering how imprisonment and community-based interventions are currently used to help ensure that we have a sustainable prison population over the longer term, and will report by the end of the year.”
The Scottish Government’s response comes after the UK Government said it was considering the chemical castration of sex offenders.
An independent review, led by former UK justice secretary David Gauke, was commissioned by the UK Government to look at how to reduce the prison population in England and Wales by 9,800 people by 2028.
Other measures include releasing well-behaved prisoners after only a third of their sentence.
This would involve using medication to suppress the sexual drive of sex offenders and is currently being piloted in southwest England.
The report says chemical castration “may assist in management of suitable sex offenders both in prison and in the community”.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood told MPs on Thursday she will pursue “a nationwide rollout, and will first expand the use of the medication to 20 prisons across England”.
Currently chemical castration in the prisons in the trial is voluntary, but Ms Mahmood says she is “exploring whether mandating the approach is possible”.
A Scottish Prison Service spokesperson said: “Healthcare in prisons is the responsibility of our NHS partners.”
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