Prison simply gives society a brief rest from offenders

Although the extension of tagging to under-16s is controversial, there is much to be said for the measure as an alternative to custody. But there are some cases, like the 15-year-old boy from Broomhouse, for whom tagging does not seem to work and being removed from circulation appears the only way forward. His behaviour appears to suggest much more deep-seated problems and an inability to understand what is acceptable and what is not.

The effectiveness of custodial sentences in general is far from proven. With 60 per cent of prisoners back behind bars within two years of release, the fear of incarceration is no longer a deterrent for the habitual criminal.

And the real concern that for many hardened young people jail is a highly effective finishing school has led the Scottish Executive to propose prison alternatives in the Management of Offenders Bill, such as more community service orders and the early release of tagged prisoners.

At 139 out of 100,000, the UK jails more criminals per head of population than any country in Europe. Of the 130,000 found guilty in Scottish courts and juvenile hearings, more than 16,600 are put behind bars - 82 per cent of them for six months or less - while only 5500 receive community service orders or restricted liberty sentences.

On an average day, there are more than 7300 criminals languishing in our jails - at an annual cost to the taxpayer of 30,000 per head.

In Denmark, the picture could not be more different. There, proportionally half the numbers of offenders are jailed as here, with the emphasis on community orders, which involve criminals attending educational courses in subjects such as anger management or drug abuse. Education and the retention of liberty pays off, with only 27 per cent re-offending.

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson is keen to import a scheme from New York which sees those arrested being wheeled into court the following morning and put to work for the good of the community the same day.

The Executive is also looking at the tagging and early release of 2000 criminals a year - a scheme which at 4.5 million a year will be cheaper than detention.

But there will always be some cases where imprisonment is the only option, even if it does not provide an answer.

A permanent solution to clean-ups is needed

IF there was to be a simple yet effective solution for keeping our city waterways clean you would have expected it to have come from a Green MSP - and it has.

Mark Ballard wants to end the confusion over who is liable for keeping rivers clear of debris and pollution by placing a statutory obligation on the city council to assume responsibility. The idea makes much sense, as streams like the Water of Leith and Braid Burn meander through long tracts of land owned by the council which is already charged with keeping the banks clean. The rivers are every much a bit of a public preserve as are parks which the council maintains.

At present the city relies on an army of unpaid volunteers to carry out regular clean-ups, but in the long-term a more permanent solution needs to be found.

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