THE Scottish government is “letting down the victims of crime,” Scottish Labour’s Katy Clark said today.
The remarks came after the SNP Justice Secretary Angela Constance revealed to Parliament that despite her plans to release 514 prisoners — 110 by this weekend — to ease prison overcrowding, just a dozen victims had been informed.
Ms Clark said: “This SNP government is letting down the victims of crime.
“Prison release services are overwhelmed and charities are describing the current plan as ‘shambolic’.
“Scottish Labour believes strongly that measures need to be taken to bring down Scotland’s high prison population — including developing alternatives to custody and modernising our crumbling prison estate.
“However, this must always be managed with effective systems in place, with victims’ rights protected and notified if there is a change in release date.”
A Scottish government spokesperson said that “victims are at the forefront of our thinking.”
“Victims can go through one of four Victim Support Organisations who can request information about a prisoner’s release on their behalf or can contact the Scottish Prison Service directly to receive information about the release date of the prisoner in their case.”
