POLITICIANS have called for caution following calls by the head of Scotland's prisons for a radical change in the way prisoners are treated and for jail to be "used as a punishment" and "not for punishment".

The Herald revealed yesterday that Colin McConnell believes keeping prisoners in custody will no longer be the "sole raison d'être" of the service and that the focus should instead be on helping offenders to change their ways.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) chief executive wants inmates to be treated more kindly, have individualised programmes and offered hope and tangible help to integrate back into their communities.

But Scottish Conservatives' justice spokeswoman Margaret Mitchell warned: "Of course rehabilitation is important, but it can't come at the cost of punishment and prison as a deterrent. We know current rehabilitation is not working when we see the reoffending rates.

"But alternatives will only work if they are properly resourced and properly thought through. And none of this can come at the expense of public safety."

Labour Justice spokesman Graeme Pearson said the judgement on whether this approach works will come in the reoffending figures.

"No-one would object to prisons being humane in their approach," he said. "The judgement on this will depend on the evidence and will be based on a downturn in the reoffending figures.

"The difference between (prison as a punishment and for punishment) is a subtle one in a world looking for justice."

Currently, short-term prisoners, in particular, are offered limited support and few education programmes.

The new vision, based on the findings of an in-depth review commissioned in June last year, was presented at the SPS annual conference in Glasgow on Tuesday. It is likely to be controversial with some because it calls for inmates to be respected as individuals and offered tailored services.

Scotland has one of the highest rates of imprisonment and recidivism of any country in western Europe.

Of the 47,000 people convicted in 2009/10, some 30% were reconvicted within one year and more than one in five had 10 or more previous convictions.

David Sinclair, of Victim Support, said the charity would support moves to rehabilitate prisoners.

"Victims of crime do see people being sentenced to a term in prison as punishment, but there are many who also want that term used to teach them the error of their ways as part of a punishment and teaching them to engage as better members of society.

"Reducing reoffending also reduces the number of victims of crime."

Scottish Liberal Democrats' justice spokeswoman Alison McInnes said: "Reconviction rates in Scotland have barely changed in a decade.

"I have long argued that a justice system that is simply a conveyor belt of arrests, court cases and prison time serves nobody - neither offenders, nor the communities offended against. So this is a welcome and long overdue change in emphasis.

"A justice system that takes offenders, listens to them, helps them, and works with them, and keeps on working with them after release is the justice system that Scotland deserves."

Last year Audit Scotland criticised the way Scottish authorities handle reoffending because the research on what helps cut reoffending - which involves keeping people in communities and support around employment and maintaining family ties - is not being put into practice.

Despite repeated calls from Scottish ministers, including Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, for a reduction in the prison population, the numbers have continued to increase. They are expected to reach 9500 by 2020, despite crime being at a 39-year low.