http://news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=1071322004
EDDIE BARNES and KATE FOSTER
"WEEKEND jails are to be created in Scotland under a plan to allow criminals to continue with their jobs while serving time. The move is being put forward as part of a major plan by justice minister Cathy Jamieson to slash Scotland?s record prison population, and to reduce rates of re-offending.
She is also to sanction plans to introduce suspended sentences in Scotland. Criminals would be given jail terms, but instead of being locked up immediately, they would be given a year to prove their good behaviour after which the threat of jail would be lifted.
The two measures are aimed at bringing an end to the revolving-door syndrome, whereby criminals who are jailed simply return to a life of crime as soon as they are freed.
Under the new weekend jail plan, petty criminals could be jailed at weekends or in the evening during the period when they are deemed most likely to cause trouble.
But by staying at home during the week they would keep a link with their families and carry on at work, thus maintaining some order in their lives. "
