What the existing rules and regulations are in respect of notifying victims of crime of the release of prisoners from custody and whether t…

Section 16 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003, which commenced on 1 November 2004, determines the conditions under which victims of crime are given an opportunity to be notified when a prisoner is released, dies in custody, is transferred outwith Scotland, becomes eligible for early release or is unlawfully at large. These conditions require that the offender who perpetrated the offence against the victim must have been sentenced to four or more years imprisonment or detention and must have been convicted of a prescribed offence.
The Victim Notification (Prescribed Offences) (Scotland) Order 2004 (SSI 2004/411), which came into force on 1 November 2004, prescribes the offences for which a victim will be entitled to receive information relating to the person who perpetrated the offence against them.
Ministers may, by order, change the conditions set out in section 16 of the 2003 Act by amending the period of time to which an offender must have been sentenced, by adding to the information that victims can receive or by altering the list of prescribed offences.
The legislation governing the release of information to victims has been in effect since 1 November 2004. Its effect on victims is subject to evaluation. Once that evaluation is complete, Ministers will consider what changes, if any, are required to the conditions set out in section 16 of the 2003 Act.