Over 600 prisoners have been released early from Scotland's jails since November, according to new data from the Scottish Prison Service (SPS). The total of 614 prisoners sentenced to less than four years were freed under an emergency early release programme. However, figures reveal that 40% of eligible inmates were deemed too high risk for release. The total prisoner population rose to 8,394 at the end of October, before steadily increasing. A new law passed by MSPs in March means short-term prisoners will be automatically released after serving 30% of their sentence instead of 40%.