GIVE US ARREST

Scottish Police Federation chief warns freeing hundreds of convicts to serve time at home won't work and is unsafe

- BY MARY WRIGHT

FREEING hundreds of convicts from overcrowded prisons to finish sentences under “house arrest” is unworkable, a top cop has claimed.

The warning, by the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), came after the Scottish Government widened the use of home detention curfews as previous early release schemes delivered only short-term respite for under-pressure prison staff.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) says population numbers remain “consistently high” and are expected to hit 8400 this summer. It has also raised concerns over the rising numbers of organised crime mobsters behind bars amid fears of a spike in violent attacks between feuding gangland thugs.