Justice Secretary Neil Gray is being urged to cut the number of offenders “stuck on remand” in Scotland’s jails as part of efforts to tackle the “overcrowding crisis” in prisons.
Labour pressed the issue days after Peter Murrell was remanded in custody after pleading guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP over a 12-year period.
While Nicola Sturgeon’s ex-husband should be sentenced in a “matter of weeks”, Labour justice spokeswoman Pauline McNeill said many inmates “are being kept for months in remand while awaiting trial or sentencing”.
Scotland’s prison population reached another record high just last week, with figures showing there were 8,602 inmates on May 20.
Statistics show that as of May 1, Scotland’s prisons held 2,149 people on remand, waiting either for a trial or sentencing.
Ms McNeill said: “Scotland’s prison population is at a record high, despite several emergency release schemes being adopted by the Scottish Government in an attempt to curb the issue.
“However, there are still thousands of people stuck on remand within Scotland’s criminal justice system, with an average time spent of three months.”
She said SNP ministers “must work to drive down the use of remand” and should instead “invest in credible, workable alternatives to prison for low-level offences”.
Ms McNeill also insisted the Government “must, as a matter of urgency, get a grip on the crisis in our prison estate”, warning of the impact of “overcrowding and staff burnout”.
She added: “The newly appointed Justice Secretary Neil Gray must get on top of the serious problems facing our justice system, including by tackling the overcrowding crisis in our prisons, addressing the courts backlog, and cutting the number of people stuck in remand.”
The Justice Secretary said: “As is well known, decisions on whether to grant bail ahead of trial or sentencing are for the independent courts.
“While there will always be cases where use of remand is necessary, the Scottish Government has been working with justice partners to change how remand is used, including increasing the availability, consistency and effectiveness of bail options, such as bail supervision and electronically monitored bail.
“I would hope others who support a sustainable prison population would back this.”