Non-Custodial Sentences
Non-Custodial Sentences
- There is no evidence to support the view that prison is in general a more effective deterrent than non-custodial sentences for less serious offences, or that increasing the length of prison sentences increases their deterrent efficacy.
- Our view is that, except in the most egregious of circumstances, unless someone poses a risk to public safety, they should not be imprisoned and should instead be subject to appropriate support and supervision within the community. Such support should be focused and tailored to the individual in such a way as to address the underlying causes of the offending behaviour, not just its symptoms.
- The most common community sentences in Scotland include Community Payback Orders (CPOs), which may include unpaid work requirements; Restriction of Liberty Orders (RLOs), which include Electronic Monitoring; and Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) which involves mandatory engagement with community-based treatment for drug problems. Community sentences commonly take 6 months, 12 months, or up to 3 years to complete.
- 24% (or 14,160) of all convictions in Scotland in 2021-22 resulted in a main penalty of a community sentence.
- Evidence suggests that short custodial sentences are less effective than community sentences at reducing re-offending.
- For example, people released from a custodial sentence of 12 months or less are reconvicted nearly twice as often as those sentenced to serve a Community Payback Order (CPO). We therefore remain broadly supportive of the Presumption Against Short Periods of Imprisonment (Scotland) Order 2019, which increased the statutory presumption against short-term sentences (PASS) from 3 months to 12 months and its policy objective to significantly reduce the numbers of women being sentenced to custody. It is worth noting, however, that the legislation does not appear to have reduced the number of people being held in prison for short periods of time, with recent figures showing that there are circa 700 people currently serving sentences of less than 12 months.