Scotland's crowded prisons 'holding back rehabilitation of offenders'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scotland’s prisons remain a “serious concern” as overcrowding worsens and is holding back offenders from successful rehabilitation, the head of inspections has warned.In her sixth and final annual report, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland, Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, commented that the Scottish Government has been urged to consider “radical justice options” that might ease the pressure on overcrowded prisons and lead to positive outcomes for offenders.Ms Sinclair-Gieben, who is preparing to leave office at the end of the month, said the public have the right to expect that “criminogenic behaviours will be addressed” while people are in custody and this “cannot happen” with the large numbers being held by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS).She said she urged that Scotland should not “build its way” out of the problem by adding more prisons to the estate but added it would also be a “travesty” if new builds in Glasgow and the Highlands were delayed.It comes months after officials announced about 500 to 550 inmates with 180 days or less to serve from a sentence of under four years were being released early to ease pressure on overcrowded prisons.Ms Sinclair-Gieben said: “In a fiscally challenging environment, every opportunity to invest to save elsewhere must be actively considered.“The ambitious development of HMP & YOI Stirling and the two women’s Community Custody Units were a ground-breaking and commendable approach to women in custody; it would be good to see that creativity applied equally ambitiously to radical justice options that might lead to fewer people being sent to prison, less time having to be spent in prison, more effective use of any time spent there and robust release planning and support.“The