Glasgow Solicitors Blog from The GLP

The Parole Board for Scotland has published its Annual Report 2010-11.The report shows, among other things, that out of 606 determinate sentence prisoners whose cases were referred to the Board, 170 (or 28%) were recommended for release on parole.

The number of life sentence prisoners released on license in circumstances where a Tribunal of the Board was satisfied that it was no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should be confined was 48.

The number of prisoners who were granted parole and then subsequently referred back to the Board for consideration for recall to custody was 73 during the year, whereas the number of prisoners who were released at the two-thirds point of their sentence as required by law and then subsequently recalled was higher at 117 for the year.

The number of determinate sentence prisoners who opted out of consideration by the Board was 64 - a sharp increase from 2009-10.

The Parole Board takes decisions on the release of life sentence prisoners and on the timing of the release on parole of determinate sentence prisoners serving sentences of four years or more.

Prisoners sentenced to four years' imprisonment or more on or after 1st October 1993 are automatically released from custody when they have served two-thirds of the sentence.