Home Detention Curfew

Home Detention Curfew (HDC) came into use in Scotland in 2006 and allows prisoners, mainly on shorter sentences, to serve up to a quarter of their sentence (for a maximum of six months and a minimum of two weeks) on licence in the community, while wearing an electronic tag. The licence includes a range of standard conditions and a curfew condition that requires prisoners to remain at a particular place for a set period each day. Other conditions can also be included in the licence on a case by case basis. Prisoners who fail to comply with the curfew or other licence conditions can be recalled to custody.

The decision to release any prisoner on the HDC scheme must be taken having regard to considerations of

 protecting the public at large;

 preventing re-offending by the offender; and

 securing the successful re-integration of the prisoner into the community.

Statutory Exclusions: The first stage of the assessment process is establishing those prisoners who are excluded from release on HDC by legislation.

- prisoners who are required to register as sex offenders;

- prisoners who are subject to an Extended Sentence;

- prisoners who are subject to a Supervised Release Order;

- prisoners who are subject to a Hospital Direction (including Transfer for Treatment);

- prisoners awaiting deportation

HDC Guidance for Agencies 2019