More criminals should be jailed to put an end to Scotland’s ‘soft-touch’ justice system, a senior police officer has said.

Chief Superintendent Rob Hay also demanded a review of guidelines urging lenient treatment of thugs under the age of 25 on the grounds that their brains may be immature.

In a rare and outspoken intervention by a top officer, he called for more focus on victims’ rights and said jails provide vital ‘respite’ by keeping their tormentors off the streets.

New Justice Secretary Neil Gray was forced to listen as Mr Hay savaged the SNP’s agenda at the annual conference of a group representing superintendents.

Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr said: ‘This senior police figure is only saying what most Scots think and representing the views of frontline officers.

‘The SNP’s soft-touch justice regime is allowing too many criminals to escape jail and letting many of those behind bars out early.

‘That approach has been a proven failure – it has held back the police from doing their jobs and is endangering the public.

‘We urgently need the resources and infrastructure to keep dangerous criminals behind bars, and a review of weak sentencing provisions that lets too many offenders walk the streets.’

Mr Hay, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS), spoke at the organisation’s annual conference in Cumbernauld, where Mr Gray made his first speech as Justice Secretary to police officers.

The chief superintendent told the Mail: ‘Prisons are 100 per cent effective because when a criminal is serving a sentence they’re not committing crime in the community. ‘That community has respite from criminal behaviour – those victims are protected from that individual.’

He added: ‘We style ourselves a human rights-based organisation in Police Scotland – and I do support that.

‘But my priority is always the human rights of the victims of crime.’

In his address to delegates, Mr Hay said: ‘We should be clear with the public that the rising prison population is being driven by an increase in long-term prisoners, particularly sex offenders and those sentenced for offences linked to serious and organised crime.

‘These are exactly the sort of people who should be in jail. Their arrest and incarceration is what effective policing and criminal justice looks like. 

'Our members are concerned messages about prison numbers will influence policing decisions on our streets. Our job is to keep people safe, but we can only do that if the whole system is oriented the same way.’

Mr Hay spoke after Mr Gray was accused of pushing reforms which will lead to fewer criminals ending up in prison. 

He suggested that offenders who do not pose a ‘risk’ to the general public should not go to jail.

Action has already been taken to drive down prison populations, including emergency early release.

The Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission has recommended the prison population is cut from the ‘unsustainable’ level of more than 8,200 to 5,775.

Commenting on lenient treatment for younger offenders, Mr Hay cited Sean Hogg, of Hamilton – whose conviction for raping a 13-year-old was later quashed – who was initially handed a Community Payback Order under sentence guidelines for young people.

Mr Hay said: ‘An individual was given 270 hours of unpaid work having been found guilty of rape, because he was under 25.

‘Most people would accept that after the age of 18 you know the difference between right and wrong.’

Mr Gray told the Mail: ‘What we need to do is prevent people ending up in prison in the first place. And that’s what I intend to set out to parliament next week.’

On sentencing under-25s, Mr Gray said: ‘It’s important to take forward a system that is sustainable and ensures the safety of the public, and that’s what I intend to do.’

A Scottish Sentencing Council spokesman said: ‘All sentencing options – including imprisonment – are available under the guideline.’