16/04/07
Crime and Punishment
Speaking in Perth Constituency, Jim Fairlie, candidate for the Free Scotland Party, said, “Scotland’s prison population is at its highest ever level. We sentence more people to prison per capita, than any other country in Europe. Significantly, we sentence more women and young offenders to prison than any other country in Europe. The present system is obviously not working.”
Mr Fairlie continued, “We should be spending more on crime prevention than on the consequences of crime. A priority should be more police on the streets and a greater over all visibility and investment in specialist treatment for drugs and violent offenders, continued after their release.”
“ To rid the prisons of those who are there for fine default, greater use should be made of community based sentences, which need not be just an easy option and will ensure the community is given something back. But for the really serious offenders, there should be no automatic early release; the tariff limits should be removed for habitual offenders, particularly for those guilty of crimes of violence and prisoners should have to earn the right to privileges”.