Governor urges 'jail alternatives'

Sep 30 2010

A prison governor has said "alternatives in the community" must be considered instead of jail to cut the number of criminals being locked up.

Bill McKinlay, governor of Barlinnie Prison and Scottish Prison Service employee for nearly 40 years, said sentences in the community were not a "soft option" and alternatives to prison must be found to cut costs and help society.

He told STV News: "We are trying to wrestle with this idea that alternatives in the community are seen as a soft option and trying to convince the public that, in actual fact, it's harder for those that commit offences than incarceration because they have to be responsible and can pay back to the community and relapse is not really an acceptable thing for most of the public. We should be continually trying to engage them in the community because they are coming back into the community."