Short-term prisoner release

What the changes mean

The Prisoners (Early Release) (Scotland) Act 2025 changed the point of automatic early release for some  prisoners serving short-term sentences.

This means that some short-term prisoners (those serving less than 4 years) are released after serving 40% of their sentence instead of 50%.

The law also gives Scottish Ministers powers to propose future changes to automatic early release points for both short and long-term prisoners.

We expect  this to reduce the sentenced prison population by approximately 5% compared to what it otherwise would have been.

Who is eligible

The new release point will apply to prisoners serving sentences of less than 4 years and children serving sentences of less than 4 years in secure accommodation.

The law change does not apply to prisoners or children in secure care serving all or part of their sentence for domestic abuse or sexual offences, or an offence with a domestic abuse statutory aggravator.

This is because it is understood that people who are victims of these crimes often do not feel able to report them compared to other types of crimes.

In recent years, progress has been made in increasing the proportion of people who come forward to report these types of crimes. We have excluded these offences to avoid discouraging victims of domestic abuse and sexual offences from reporting these crimes.

Further information on eligibility

Previous convictions

Having a previous conviction for domestic abuse or a sexual offence will not exclude the prisoner from release at 40% if they are now serving a sentence for a different crime.

Imprisonment for non-payment of a fine

If a person is serving a prison sentence because they did not pay a fine then they will be released at the new 40% release point. This will be the case even if the fine was imposed for a domestic abuse or sexual offence, because the prison sentence is a consequence of the fine not being paid.

Orders relating to sexual offending

Sexual harm prevention orders (SHPOs) or sexual offences prevention orders (SOPOs) can be imposed on people convicted of sexual offences or those whose behaviour poses a particular risk. Restrictions can include things like limiting internet access or travel.

It is a criminal offence if a person breaches a SOPO or SHPO and as a consequence they can be given a prison sentence. However, if a person is only serving a prison sentence because they breached this type of order, this does not count as a sexual offence in itself and so they will be released at the new 40% release point.

If, in breaching the order, they are also convicted of a separate sexual offence and are sentenced to prison, then the exclusions would apply and they will be released at 50%.

Examples of how the changes will work  

Example 1 

Length of prison sentence: 1 year for theft 
Sentence served before rule change: 6 months (50%) 
Sentence served after rule change: 4 months and 24 days (40%) 
Difference in time served: around 1 month and a week

Example 2

Length of prison sentence: 2 years for a domestic abuse offence
Sentence served before rule change: 1 year (50%) 
Sentence served after rule change: 1 year (50%) 
Difference in time served: no difference 

Example 3 

Length of prison sentence: 4 months for not paying a fine that had been imposed for a sexual offence
Sentence served before rule change: 2 months (50%) 
Sentence served after rule change: 1 month and 18 days (40%) 
Difference in time served: around 2 weeks 

Example 4 

Length of prison sentence: 2 years for breaching a sexual harm prevention order 
Sentence served before rule change: 1 year (50%) 
Sentence served after rule change: 9 months and 18 days year (40%) 
Difference in time served: around 2 months and 2 weeks