9 Pre-release reports

(Table 1)

Key statistics for 2024-25:

• There were 1,400 home leave reports produced, the 5th highest in ten years.
• There were 2,600 reports produced for release from prison on parole/non-parole licence, the highest in the last ten years.
• Ninety-one per cent of home leave reports were for males.
• Ninety-eight per cent of parole/non-parole reports were for males.

Part of statutory throughcare involves preparing reports. Pre-release reports is an umbrella term used solely for statistical purposes to cover:

• Home leave reports, which inform temporary release from prison on home leave, and
• Parole/non-parole reports, which inform liberation on licence.

Chart 7: Parole/non-parole reports have steadily increased over the last ten years.

Number of parole/non-parole reports and home leave reports submitted 2015-16 to 2024-25, Scotland

In 2024-25, 1,400 home leave reports were produced. This was 19 per cent higher than in 2023-24. Numbers have generally remained lower than in the pre-pandemic years.

A total of 2,600 reports for release from prison on parole/non-parole licence were recorded in 2024-25. This was a rise of two per cent on 2023-24. Numbers have increased every year since 2015-16.

Overall, pre-release reports in 2015-16 and 2016-17 were nearly 50:50 between home leave and parole/non-parole reports. This ratio has, however, changed substantially since then. The percentage of reports which were parole/non-parole was 66 per cent in 2024-25, with the remaining 34 per cent home leave reports.