The SNP and left-wing opposition parties have been accused of a “ shameful capitulation to criminals” for allowing offenders to be released from prison after serving just 15 per cent of their sentence.
Amid a flurry of parliamentary business rushed through before the summer recess, MSPs voted for a government Statutory Instrument late last night (Wednesday), enabling the earliest ever release of inmates back into the community, via Home Detention Curfew.
Only the Scottish Conservatives opposed the measure, with Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green members siding with the SNP to pass it.
Shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr slammed the move as “an indefensible betrayal of victims” by “out-of-touch left-wing parties”.
Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr said: “Prisoners across Scotland will be rubbing their hands with glee at the SNP’s shameful capitulation to criminals.
“It’s outrageous that inmates will now be eligible for release under a Home Detention Curfew having served just a tiny fraction of their sentence.
“It makes a mockery of the justice system and renders sentences issued by the courts meaningless.
“The Scottish Conservatives were the only party to vote against this indefensible betrayal of victims, which speaks volumes about how out of touch the left-wing Holyrood parties are with public opinion.
“Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens should be ashamed of themselves for backing the SNP’s latest extension of their early-release programme. No wonder people feel disconnected from politics when MSPs take reckless decisions like this, which endanger public safety.
“This decision stems from the SNP’s abject failure to increase prison capacity by building the new jails they promised, and it’s appalling that the justice secretary has pushed it through without carrying out any research on the impact on victims of crime.”
Notes
The SSI means prisoners can now be released on Home Detention Curfew after serving 15% of their sentence, down from the current 25%. Under existing HDC eligibility criteria, HDC release cannot be granted until an eligible individual has served at least 25% of their sentence. This SSI amends the eligibility for HDC from 20 October 2025 to the point at which an individual will have served at least 15% of their original sentence – with a maximum of 210 days on HDC. (Scottish Parliament, 17 June 2025, link)
Home Detention Curfew allows prisoners to re-enter the community before their sentence is completed. HDC is a mechanism which supports reintegration of prisoners by allowing eligible individuals to be released from custody, subject to licence conditions, into the community prior to their liberation date. This can occur where a prisoner is assessed as suitable via a risk assessment. Individuals released on HDC are subject to a curfew condition which is electronically monitored. (Scottish Parliament, 17 June 2025, link)
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice admitted no research had been done on the impact on victims. Liam Kerr MSP asked, “Has any research and investigation been done, prior to the laying of the instrument, into the impact of reducing the threshold for time served to 15 per cent on victims?” and the Cabinet Secretary replied “On whether there has been any research on the specific change, the answer is no.” (Scottish Parliament, 11 June 2025, link)
The Scottish Conservatives were the only party to vote against letting prisoners out earlier. The SNP, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens voted for the SSI while the Scottish Conservatives were the only party to vote against. (Scottish Parliament, 25 June 2025, link)
The change is being made in response to new laws giving prisoners automatic early release after serving 40% of their sentence. The Cabinet Secretary for Justice said, “That change will help to realign the home detention curfew process with the new automatic release point for eligible short-sentence prisoners at 40%.” (Scottish Parliament, 11 June 2025, link)