Scottish criminals are being released after just 40 per cent of sentences under ‘dangerous’ SNP plans

In a second step to reduce overcrowding, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain KC said she had issued temporary guidance to prosecutors that they should only oppose a suspect being released on bail in limited circumstances.

Ms Bain, head of the Crown Office, said an objection to granting bail to someone awaiting trial should only be made if he/she “poses a substantial risk of reoffending and causing harm to a victim, witness or the audience, which cannot be limited. ”

Ms Constance made the Holyrood statement after a previous emergency release for criminals who had served a prison sentence of less than four years with 180 days or less remaining to run had failed to solve the overcrowding problem.

A total of 477 prisoners were released in four tranches over the summer, but 57 of them were returned to prison after allegedly reoffending, and the prison population quickly recovered.

The SNP Justice Secretary said there were 8,322 prisoners in custody, more than the total of 8,270 before the summer release, and that the prison population had reached “critical levels”.

Official forecasts show this is likely to continue to rise until January this year, she said, leaving Scotland’s prisons in an “untenable position” that threatens the safety of staff and prisoners.

Ms. Constance noted that the British Labor government had already begun releasing some prisoners after serving just 40 percent of their sentences and that it would “implement a similar policy.”

“This proposal would be accompanied by statutory exclusions in relation to domestic violence and sexual offences, recognizing the specific concerns that will arise in relation to such offences,” she said.

“This requires primary legislation, which I intend to introduce in November and which I will seek Parliament’s consent to move forward in an emergency.”