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From the Guardian today, the above and:

More sexual predators in England and Wales could be freed instead of jailed because of the pressure on courts and prisons, police sources have told the Guardian.

The warning comes after the Metropolitan police commissioner, Mark Rowley, on Thursday condemned the release on bail of a man after he admitted taking pictures of children and women, and then using AI to sexualise them.

Zafer Dogan was bailed to his flat overlooking a children’s playground, from which he committed some of the offences he admitted, despite prosecutors and police saying he should be remanded in custody.

One of his victims said they had to move after courts declined to send him to jail ahead of his sentencing on Thursday, where he was imprisoned for two years. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/sep/25/more-sex-offenders-in-england-and-wales-could-be-released-amid-court-system-crisis-police-sources-say

Is there any prospect of this happening in Scotland?

Not, according to BBC Scotland, in May 2026:

The latest releases, external saw 614 people freed early, all of whom had been sentenced to less than four years in prison and were not convicted of domestic abuse or sexual offences.

At the end of October the total prisoner population was 8,394, it then dropped slightly as the early releases got under way before steadily rising – including surpassing previous record population highs. The emergency release scheme has now ended but a new law passed by MSPs in March means short-term prisoners will now be automatically released after serving 30% of their sentence instead of 40%

This will come into force , externalfive days after the Holyrood election. Again, this law change does not apply to prisoners serving all or part of their sentence for domestic abuse or sexual offences. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czd24z7563no

Governors also blocked a large share of other eligible inmates on risk grounds. That is a clearer statutory firewall than the situation described in England and Wales, where the immediate flashpoint is courts declining remand for people not yet sentenced.

Help Talking-up Scotland keep going

Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going

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