News In Focus
5 February 2010
Sheriff attacks prison release policy
A Perth sheriff has again attacked Scotland's prison release policy, after dealing with a drug addict who was released with an electronic tag little more than two months after he had sentenced her to a total of 21 months in prison.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis was told that Pamela Scrimgeour (23) had been freed on a tag by 13 July last year, having been sentenced on 6 May for a total of 13 offences including theft, housebreaking and misuse of drugs. There were three breaches of bail, four offences committed whilst on bail, and a breach of probation.
On 20 July she was caught in the street with a bag of heroin.
Sentence had been backdated but the sheriff observed that the total time she had spent in custody must have been five and a half months at most.
He told the court: "We may as well put the lights out then and just walk off."
This time he deferred sentence for reports.
Last October Sheriff Foulis criticised the tagged release of a drug dealer three months after he was sentenced to 21 months (click here).