Short term prison sentence

A custodial sentence of up to 4 years is regarded as a short-term prison sentence. More information is available here.

The most recent data shows that in 2022/23 there were 8,391 short-term prison sentences under 4 years imposed in Scotland. You can find more information here.

In June 2019 the Presumption Against Short Sentences (PASS) was extended from 3 to 12 months, meaning that a judge must not impose a custodial sentence of 12 months or less unless no other sentence is considered appropriate. More information is available here.

The most recent data shows that in 2022/23 there were 6,498 short-term prison sentences under 1 year imposed in Scotland. You can find more information here.

Scottish Government Monitoring Information for PASS for the period January – December 2020 can be found here.

In 2018/19 Community Justice Scotland commissioned research into the extension of PASS and potential implications for individuals and services in communities across Scotland. We worked with Progressive Partnerships to carry out this research, which sought to explore the needs of individuals at the time just before they were sentenced. This involved surveying and interviewing individuals who are now completing a Community Payback Order (CPO) and those who are serving a custodial sentence of 12 months or less. Results suggest that a significantly higher number of people serving a sentence of 12 months or less reported that prior to being sentenced they had issues with their mental health and with drug use. Further, a significantly higher number of people serving a sentence of 12 months or less reported that they wanted further support in a wide range of areas in their lives in order to prevent future reoffending.

With an expected increase in numbers of individuals serving community sentences as a result of the extension to PASS, this research suggests that a proportion of these people may have more complex needs that will require more support than the current ‘average’ person completing a CPO. You can read our final report. “Sentenced to Smart Justice”, here.

In advance of the Scottish Statutory Instrument being laid in Scottish Parliament, the Justice Committee invited submissions of written evidence on the impact of the PASS since introduction, and the potential impact of the proposed extension.
On 22nd May 2019, Community Justice Scotland submitted this written evidence in response.