Statement on electronic tagging to be made in Holyrood

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf will make a statement to MSPs on the use of electronic tagging to monitor offenders in the community.

The issue will be raised in Holyrood following the death of father-of-three Craig McClelland, from Paisley.

He was stabbed to death in July 2017 by James Wright, who was at the time “unlawfully at large” while on home detention curfew.

In June this year Mr Yousaf’s predecessor, former justice secretary Michael Matheson, said the “appalling” case raised a number of questions that both he and the dead man’s family wanted answers to.

Mr Matheson commissioned HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary to carry out reviews to “determine whether there are further aspects that can be improved in how they make assessments in determining whether someone should be provided with home detention curfew”.

He said at the time ministers would consider if “there are any further actions that need to be taken” when those reports were completed.

Home detention curfews have been used in Scotland since 2006, and allow for prisoners to serve part of their sentence in the community while being monitored via an electronic tag.