Re-offending stats will only get worse thanks to SNP’s determination to empty our jails

The latest re-offending statistics have been released, showing that the number of criminals who go on to reoffend within two years has reached its highest level in a decade.

Given that these figures relate to a period before the SNP extended Home Detention Curfews and scrapped short sentences, they will only get worse over time.

John Lamont MSP, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice, says:

"We are not rehabilitating criminals successfully when they are behind bars, and we are failing to get them off the conveyor belt of crime. But that does not mean we should be letting them off jail sentences altogether. There is an alarming failure rate for tagging and Drug Testing and Treatment Orders, showing they are not being properly enforced.

"What is worrying is that these figures relate to a period before the SNP Government extended Home Detention Curfews and scrapped short sentences, both measures which Scottish Conservatives opposed. Public opinion is clear. Prison has to remain an option and you cut the prison population by cutting crime.

"As last week's Civitas report suggested, the benefits of letting more criminals out of jail earlier, or not sending them to jail at all, are greatly exaggerated and we must not forget that when a criminal is in jail, they are not re-offending at all.

"Put simply, Alex Salmond and the soft-touch SNP are more interested in emptying our jails than protecting the public. We need better rehabilitation inside our jails and must send a clear message that society will not tolerate repeated serious offending such as mugging, robbing, rape, assault and burglary. Until the SNP agrees with us, these figures will only get worse in the years to come."

Below is a link to the Civitas Report

http://www.civitas.org.uk/crime/CommunitySentencingAug2010.pdf

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