Exclusive:SNP urged to follow Burnham and exempt rapists from early release amid fears 'public safety at risk'
The Scottish government is proposing long-term prisoners including sexual offenders can be automatically released after serving just two thirds of their sentence.
John Swinney’s government is under pressure to follow Andy Burnham and exclude violent rapists from the SNP’s early prisoner release scheme amid concerns the plans will “put public safety at risk”.
The Prime Minister has now confirmed that rape, serious child sex and other grooming offences will be barred from the UK government’s early released proposals south of the Border - piling pressure on SNP ministers to follow suit.
SNP Justice Secretary, Neil Gray, announced plans in June for prisoners including violent and sexual offenders to be automatically released from jail after serving just two thirds of their sentence. Previously, violent criminals and domestic abusers had been exempted from the Scottish government’s p.revious policies to reduce prison populations.
The proposals have been brought forward as the SNP government grapples with an over-capacity and ageing prison estate. But the government’s own documents warn that “the proposed changes could also have an impact for victims, including victims of violence against women and girls”
Mr Gray is now facing pressure to mirror action to be taken by Mr Burnham’s government and rule out sexual offenders being included in the early release proposals.
Rape Crisis Scotland chief executive, Alev Taylor, said: “Rapists and sexual offenders should always be excluded from early release plans, and we welcome any decision from any government which recognises this.
"Reports of sexual offending reached a record high this year, and still sexual offences continue to have the lowest conviction rate of any crime type in Scotland while survivors wait for up to three years for a court case to conclude. We still believe that we cannot get to a point where a survivor spends longer pursuing justice than a perpetrator of rape spends in prison.
"We recognise the dangers of overcrowded prisons and acknowledge that managing the rising prison population is an incredibly difficult task, however we will not accept solutions which come at the expense of survivors of rape and sexual violence.”
Carol Eden, head of communications and external affairs at Victim Support Scotland, has warned that “exclusions for sexual offences and domestic abuse are worryingly absent” from the SNP’s plans.
She added: “We are calling for these to be put in place for these proposals, as there were in previous early release schemes.
"Thorough risk assessments and the ability to veto a prisoner's release are absolutely necessary in cases where someone poses a significant risk to an individual or wider society."
Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, Stephen Kerr, said: “The SNP should never be looking for ways to let rapists and other sexual criminals out early.
“Instead, they should be scrapping their reckless early release schemes altogether.
“If Labour ministers can recognise the dangers of releasing the worst offenders early, John Swinney should do the same instead of continuing to put public safety at risk. “
Scottish Labour justice spokesperson, Pauline McNeill, said: “The SNP must do right by victims and put safeguards in place to ensure their early release schemes do not cut sentences short for rapists.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Scotland has a separate justice system to England and Wales. While both governments are responding to prison population pressures, the decisions and actions taken by the Scottish government are based on Scotland’s circumstances and legal system.
“Like many comparable countries, Scotland faces pressures from a rising and increasingly complex prison population. As part of our considered approach to managing the prison estate, protecting victims and public safety remains our priority.”