Prisoner Voting
Prisoner Voting
HLS calls on the Scottish Government to give prisoners in Scotland the vote in this historic vote.
Summary
- This is the first time the Scottish Parliament will legislate on the franchise. Instead of simply reproducing the Westminster blanket ban on prisoners’ voting rights, there is an opportunity for the Parliament to put down a marker about the value placed on democratic rights and social justice in Scotland.
- We wish to highlight that almost all other European democracies recognise that voting is too hard-won a fundamental right to be lost automatically on imprisonment.
- We welcome the Scottish government’s recognition that too many people are sent to prison in Scotland. We therefore ask that the Committee seeks more explanation from the Scottish Government of why it believes that imprisonment on one particular date should be enough in all cases to prevent citizens from taking part in a vote which will determine the constitutional future of their country and may not be repeated in their lifetime.
- We would welcome a broad debate on whether to follow the model of many other developed democracies, and allow some or all convicted prisoners to vote. However, we realise that the timetable for the legislation does not realistically allow for that sort of debate.
- Noting that arrangements already need to be made for those held on remand, we believe that the Parliament should at least investigate and debate the potential for allowing prisoners serving short-term sentences to vote in September 2014. This would reduce the scale of arbitrary disenfranchisement, recognise the exceptional nature of this poll and signal that the unusually hard line taken by the UK Government on this issue does not reflect the values of the Scottish Parliament.
The proposals in the Bill
Section 3 of the Bill takes the existing UK ban on convicted prisoners voting in elections and extends it to the referendum. The documents accompanying the Bill mainly note the factual and legal position, with the commentary limited to stating only:
- “The ECHR ruling (and human rights case law) does not relate to referendums, and convicted prisoners will not be able to vote in the referendum irrespective of whether UK electoral law is amended to extend the vote to prisoners for parliamentary elections before the referendum in 2014.” (Policy Memorandum, para 13); and
- “It has been included in the Bill because the UK Parliament is considering proposals to alter section 3 of the 1983 Act and the Scottish Government would not wish any alteration to apply for the purposes of an independence referendum.” (Explanatory Notes, para 9)
Why Voting Matters
The universality of the franchise is important not only for nationhood and democracy. The vote of each and every citizen is a badge of dignity and personhood. Quite literally, it says that everybody counts.
The constitutional court of South Africa in a decision on prisoners’ voting rights (1999)
The creation of a universal franchise is one of the great political achievements of the past 150 years: we should never take it for granted. How much care we exercise when we decide to remove voting rights is a token not just of how we value fellow citizens, but of how much we value voting itself.
In many countries, the vote is seen as an inalienable right that cannot be taken away as a punishment. We think that is a powerful position which better represents the values of a modern democracy, than the current position in the UK, which has its roots in the mid-nineteenth century relationship between voting and property ownership, and the forfeiture of property for certain crimes.
As the Scottish Government is using this opportunity to amend the franchise in other ways, we would like it to give a fuller explanation of its decision to follow the UK blanket ban on prisoners voting.
The European Context
The UK is unusual in Europe in implementing a blanket ban. On the best available recent research (Briefing Note SN/PC/01764, from the House of Commons Library, December 2012):
- At least eighteen European nations, including Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, have no form of electoral ban for imprisoned offenders. Norway has provision for removing voting rights from certain offenders, but this appears never to have been used.
- In other countries electoral disqualification depends on the crime committed or the length of the sentence. In France, certain crimes are identified which carry automatic forfeiture of political rights and Germany’s ban extends only to prisoners whose crimes target the integrity of the state or the democratic order, such as political insurgents.
- Among the Council of Europe countries, those with which the UK keeps company in not allowing any convicted prisoners the right to vote are Armenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Liechtenstein, San Marino and Russia: in at least two of these, consideration is being given to change.
The ban is often defended on the basis that those sentenced to prison have broken their contract with society, in a substantially different way from the many other offenders who are given non-custodial sentences or fines, and that this must mean that all convicted prisoners should lose their vote while they are held in prison. When so many of our fellow democracies reject that logic, we should stop and consider it again.
The international position underlines that respecting the rights of victims, as we should, does not require the removal of the vote. We are not aware of any evidence that it functions as a deterrent. Indeed, we find the idea that prison should automatically carry a penalty of “civic death” at odds with the agendas for rehabilitation and reintegration that have been a welcome part of Scottish political debate in recent years. We believe effective rehabilitation is central to addressing the needs of victims of crime.
The way we use prisons as a society, we expect the criminal justice system to punish offenders appropriately and reduce the risk of reoffending. Prisons will always be an essential part of that system.
Decisions about imprisonment are often not clear-cut, however: there is not a straightforward divide between the types of offences that attract imprisonment and those that do not. In 2011-12, 28 per cent of shoplifting convictions, 54 per cent of housebreaking convictions, and 61 per cent of convictions for serious assault and attempted murder ended in a custodial sentence (Source: Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2011-12). The remaining cases were dealt with using non-custodial measures. Using their discretion, sentencers take many issues into account, including the welfare of the offender him or herself and what particular community sentencing options are available in the local area.
Scotland's rate of imprisonment is one of the highest in Western Europe and over twice as high as the prison populations of the Nordic countries. The sentenced prison population is around 25 per cent higher than it was ten years ago (Source: Prison statistics and population projections Scotland: 2011-12). We applaud the commitment of the Scottish Government to reducing the use of imprisonment and support the view of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, speaking in the Scottish Parliament on 20 September 2007:
The Government refuses to believe that the Scottish people are inherently bad or that there is any genetic reason why we should be locking up twice as many offenders as Ireland or Norway. … We need to face up to some tough questions. Who are we sending to prison and why? … Scotland is undoubtedly a civilised society, but perhaps it relies on prison to do too much with too many… One study indicated that half of our prison population comes from 15 per cent of Scotland's poorest council wards.
Speaking to the Justice Committee on 26 February 2013 the Cabinet Secretary has also highlighted that:
In Scotland, we still have too many short-term prisoners. In Scotland, a higher proportion of offenders—15 per cent—are sent to prison than in England and Wales.
Prison statistics and population projections Scotland: 2011-12 notes that:
- the rise in the prison population over the past five years or so is set against a backdrop of relatively stagnant or falling levels of recorded crime …
- the sentenced population has increased by 3 per cent, reaching 6,578 in 2011-12. This is primarily due to marked increases in sentences between 3 months and two years …
- there are several drivers behind the increase in prison population over the past couple of decades [including] … the increase in the number of convicted offenders getting custodial sentences for lower level crimes and offences.
Inquiries into prisons and offending commissioned by the Scottish Government in recent years tell a consistent story about the over-use of imprisonment in Scotland, in particular for those from the most deprived and vulnerable backgrounds. This is not a new issue: similar points have been made by earlier inquiries.
Our review shows that we are not using prisons mainly to tackle serious crime …. [the] breakdown of data shows we use prison for a very different purpose. Instead of investing in a system that can secure stronger, safer communities, a series of problematic and largely unnecessary uses of prison are revealed….[including]
- The short sentences problem - people who are more troubling than dangerous: Eighty-three percent of prison sentences in 2005/06 were for 6 months or less (and 57% of all prison sentences were for 90 days or less)…
- The warehousing problem - a place to hold the damaged and traumatised: Ninety percent of women in prison have drug and alcohol problems, and 75% have a history of abuse and major health problems. The picture for male offenders and young people is similar….
Research has demonstrated and defence lawyers are well aware that similar cases are sentenced very differently in different courts - and even by different judges in the same courts…
We calculate that it would be possible to reduce the prison population by as many as three to four thousand offenders who have not committed serious crimes and do not constitute a danger to the public…(Scotland’s Choice: The Report of the Scottish Prisons Commission, 2008, empahsis added).
There are women who should be in prison to protect the public and to mark the seriousness of their crimes. Even for these women, opportunities for rehabilitation should be available to reduce the likelihood they will reoffend and help reintegrate them back into the community…. For other women who have been repeatedly convicted of committing lower level offences, their offending is often the result of significant underlying issues, such as drug or alcohol addiction and mental health problems, that could be better addressed in the community…. 75 per cent of custodial sentences imposed on women are for periods of six months or less…. … further analysis is required to gather the information which will help to explain the reasoning behind sentencers’ decisions.
Female prisoners have higher lifetime incidences of trauma, including severe and repeated physical and sexual victimisation, than either male prisoners or women in the general population. (Report of the Commission on Women Offenders: 2012,emphasis added).
The evidence is compelling that being sentenced to imprisonment alone should not be regarded as providing a strong enough justification for removing a person’s right to vote and that the current ban impacts disproportionately on the most deprived and vulnerable. As in other developed European democracies, if we are to remove the vote at all, we should set a higher bar.
The referendum as a special case
We agree with the Scottish Government that the referendum is different from general elections. We think that makes it more important for prisoners to have a vote in it, not less. The long-term significance of this poll provides a reason for including as many prisoners as possible in the process.
We also believe that in this context prisoners will be more aware than usual of being excluded from the democratic process and that, if this has any effect, it will reinforce their sense of being separate from, and rejected by, mainstream society. This will work against successful rehabilitation.
Specifically, we would like the Scottish Government to explain the policy reasons for preventing prisoners from voting in the referendum even if by then some have acquired voting rights in general elections. We note that in the current draft UK legislation, alongside the UK government’s preferred option of no change, there are other options extending voting either to all those serving sentences up to six months or up to four years.
Voting and rehabilitation
We welcome the current inquiry by the Justice Committee into purposeful activity in prisons and in particular the Cabinet Secretary’s recent statement to the Committee that:
the Scottish Government believes that offenders should be sent to prison as punishment, but that our prisons should also be about the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders back into society as contributing citizens.
We do not want to suggest that voting by itself will make a large difference but we do believe that participation in democratic decision-making could contribute to the process of rehabilitation and send a strong message to prisoners that they remain part of wider society and have a stake in its future.
Arbitrary effects
Including those on short sentences in the ban on voting will create some unusually acute anomalies in the specific case of the referendum.
- Prisoners on short sentences are regularly released soon after conviction, due to the time they have already spent on remand. They suffer little or no impact on their voting rights. Others, where the courts have been content to grant bail, serve their whole sentence as convicted prisoners. Of two people convicted side by side and given the same sentence in the run-up to September 2014, the one granted bail could lose their only opportunity to vote on the issue of independence, while the other does not.
- More generally, during 2011-12, around 10,000 people received a prison sentence of less than 6 months (around one-third of those were sentences of less than 3 months) (Source: Scottish Parliament Question S4W-13083). On an average day only 433 of these were actually in prison serving their sentence, due to: the rapid turn-over of these prisoners; time already spent on remand; and early release (including on Home Detention Curfew; we understand prisoners on early release would be eligible to vote). On this pattern, there will be a significant element of arbitrary disenfranchisement among those serving short sentences during the year surrounding the referendum.
Practical issues
We understand that electoral administrators will face additional work taking forward other parts of the Bill. However, arrangements will anyway need to be made for prisoners on remand by electoral administrators and the SPS. Remand prisoners already make up around one-fifth of the prison population – typically around 1600 on any day – and can vote by post. At first sight, there is not an obvious reason why prisoners on short-term sentences at least could not be treated in the same way.
At a minimum, the practicalities of extending the vote to those on short-term sentences, which are defined in law as being less than 4 years, should be tested with the organisations involved and it should not simply be assumed that it would be unachievable.
On an average day in 2011-12, in addition to the 433 serving sentences of less than 6 months, 1822 prisoners were serving sentences from 6 months up to less than two years, and 1172 were serving sentences between two years and less than four years. (Source: Prison statistics and population projections Scotland: 2011-12)
There is also a case for seeking to include those nearing the end of a sentence and being prepared for release, although we realise that they may be harder to identify in law and would bring into the debate prisoners who have committed more serious crimes.
The relevance of ECHR
We recognise that ECHR compliance is a more significant matter for Scottish legislation than UK legislation, because of the limitations on legislative competence in section 29(2)(d) of the Scotland Act 1998, and that the Scottish Government has stated that it does not believe that the ECHR applies to voting in referendums. While recognising that it will be important for the government and the Parliament to satisfy themselves on the legal issues, we want to make this as a moral case, not a legal one.
Conclusion
We would ask the Parliament to consider allowing at least those prisoners serving shorter sentences to vote in the referendum.
We take encouragement from the recent words of the First Minister, at First Minister’s Questions on 7 March, that:
The UK Government is out of step with civilised people across the Continent. Its attitude towards human rights is parochial and regressive. The European Convention on Human Rights fulfils a valuable role in Scottish society. An independent Scotland with a written constitution would allow us to assert the positive rights that people in a modern democracy expect to have and are entitled to have.
There is an immediate opportunity with this Bill for Scotland to strike a distinctive course which brings us closer to the practice in other developed European democracies, rather than automatically following the model set by Westminster. We believe the question of voting rights for prisoners in the referendum is more, rather than less, acute than in general elections.
We hope that at minimum the Committee will find time to explore the issues raised and do whatever it can to ensure that when this legislation comes before the Parliament as a whole, this issue is fully debated, in a way which reflects positively on Scotland as a country which values democratic rights and social justice.
References:
Prison statistics and population projections Scotland: 2011-12
Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2011-12
Kenny MacAskill, 8 February 2013, Scottish Parliament Question S4W-13083
Scotland's Choice - Report of the Scottish Prisons Commission
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/Review/spc
Commission on Women Offenders: Final Report
For further background on the history of the ban on prisoners voting, recent legal cases and international comparisons: Prisoners' Voting Rights - Commons Library Standard Note SN/PC/01764, December 2012. An annex to the note provides information on the position in each of the Council of Europe countries
21 March 2013
Sections
Archive
2023
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HMIPS Thematic Review of Segregation in Scottish Prisons
18th September 2023
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HMP Greenock Full Inspection Report
18th September 2023
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Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Bill
18th September 2023
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Recorded Crime in Scotland 2022-2023
18th September 2023
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Prison Mobile Phone Phase Out
18th September 2023
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Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Bill
18th September 2023
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Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service Corporate Plan (2023-26) & Business Plan (2023-24)
18th September 2023
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Prisoner Voting
18th September 2023
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HMP Addiewell Full Inspection
18th September 2023
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Journey Times in Scotland's Criminal Justice System Report
18th September 2023
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Joint Review of Diversion From Prosecution
18th September 2023
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'Still Nothing to See Here' Follow Up Report
18th September 2023
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Scottish Parliament Pre-Budget Scrutiny
18th September 2023
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HMIPS Annual Report 2021-2022
18th September 2023
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HMIPS Strategic Plan 2022-2025
18th September 2023
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HMP Shotts: Full Prison Inspection
18th September 2023
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Court Backlog Modelling
18th September 2023
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Scottish Prison Population Health Needs Report
18th September 2023
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The New Women's Prison Estate in Scotland
18th September 2023
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Recorded Crime in Scotland 2021-2022
18th September 2023
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Scottish Sentencing Council Reports
18th September 2023
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Mental Health Support in Scotland's Prisons 2021: Under-Served and Under-Resourced
18th September 2023
2022
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Judged on Progress: the Need for Urgent Delivery on Scottish Justice Sector Reforms
21st April 2022
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Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act 2019 Implemented
21st April 2022
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Independent Review of the Response to Deaths in Prison Custody
21st April 2022
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Scottish Sentencing Council: Guideline on the Sentencing of Young People
21st April 2022
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HMIPS Annual Report 2020-2021
21st April 2022
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HMIPS Health and Well-Being Pre-Inspection Survey
21st April 2022
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Scottish Sentencing Council Report: Judicial Perspectives on Community-Based Disposals
21st April 2022
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Reconviction Statistics: 2019-19 Offender Cohort
21st April 2022
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Recorded Crime in Scotland 2020-2021
21st April 2022
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HMIPS Liaison Visit to HMP Greenock
21st April 2022
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HMIPS Liaison Visit to HMP Castle Huntly
21st April 2022
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Audit Scotland: Community Justice Sustainable Alternatives to Custody
21st April 2022
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Mental Welfare Commission Report: Women and Mental Ill-Health
21st April 2022
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Membership of the new Scottish Parliament Criminal Justice Committee Announced
21st April 2022
2021
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The Scandal of Remand in Scotland: A Report by Howard League Scotland – May 2021
21st May 2021
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An Urgent Plea from Howard League Scotland Committee
21st April 2021
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Expert Review of Mental Health Support For Young People Entering And In Custody At HMP&YOI Polmont - Final Progress Update
15th April 2021
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Extended Presumption Against Short Sentences Monitoring Information: January – December 2020
15th April 2021
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Scottish Crime & Justice Survey 2019-20
15th April 2021
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Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics: 2019 -20
15th April 2021
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HMIPS Liaison Visit to HMP/YOI Grampian
15th April 2021
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Review of Forensic Mental Health Services in Scotland Final Report
15th April 2021
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The Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Rules
15th April 2021
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Covid19 Court Restrictions Extended
15th April 2021
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The Community Orders (Coronavirus)(Scotland) Regulations 2021
15th April 2021
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The Restorative Justice (Prescribed Persons) (Scotland) Order 2021
15th April 2021
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Allan Marshall FAI Recommendations
15th April 2021
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The Parole Board (Scotland) Amendment Rules 2021
15th April 2021
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Effects of New Covid19 Variant
15th April 2021
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Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) Criminal Case Throughput Data
15th April 2021
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Council of Europe's European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Report
15th April 2021
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Reconviction Rates in Scotland: 2017-18 Offender Cohort
15th April 2021
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Justice Committee Evidence Session - Covid19 Effects on Criminal Justice System
15th April 2021
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HMIPS Liaison Visit to HMP Kilmarnock
15th April 2021
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Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act - Electronic Monitoring
15th April 2021
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Outstanding Unpaid Work (Community Payback Orders)
14th April 2021
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HMP Dumfries Full Inspection
14th April 2021
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New European Prison Rules
14th April 2021
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Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2019 - 2020
14th April 2021
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HMIPS First Liaison Visit to HMP Addiewell
14th April 2021
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HMIPS First Liaison Visit to HMP Edinburgh
14th April 2021
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Disclosure (Scotland) Act
14th April 2021
2020
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HMIPS: Remote Monitoring and Liaison Visits
16th November 2020
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Virtual Visits and Mobile Phones in Scottish Prisons
16th November 2020
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SPS Covid19 Route Map
16th November 2020
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Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2018-19
16th November 2020
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HMIPS Inspection of HMP Edinburgh
16th November 2020
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Jackie Tombs – A Note of Appreciation
20th August 2020
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Three Keys to Unlocking the Problem of Prisons in a Pandemic
25th June 2020
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‘Prisoner householding’: the latest threat from Covid-19
29th April 2020
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COVID-19 in Scottish Prisons: Update #1
30th March 2020
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COVID-19 in Scottish Prisons
30th March 2020
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Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representations) Bill Passed
30th March 2020
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Disclosure (Scotland) Bill Report
23rd March 2020
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Age of Criminal Responsibility (Scotland) Act
23rd March 2020
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Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representations) Bill Report
23rd March 2020
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Independent Review of the Handling of Deaths in Custody
23rd March 2020
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Evidence to Education and Skills Committee: Disclosure (Scotland) Bill
23rd March 2020
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HMP Glenochil Full Inspection
23rd March 2020
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Council of Europe's European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
23rd March 2020
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Pre-Budget Scrutiny
11th February 2020
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Throughcare Service Provision Announcement
11th February 2020
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Recorded Crime in Scotland: 2018-2019
11th February 2020
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Evidence to Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee: Prisoner Voting
11th February 2020
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Audit Scotland audit of SPS
11th February 2020
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Scottish Government - Programme for Government 2019/20
11th February 2020
2019
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HMIPS Annual Report 2018-19
5th November 2019
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Fatal Accident Inquiry - Allan Marshall (HMP Edinburgh)
5th November 2019
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Franchise Extended to Prisoners to Vote in the Shetland By-Election
5th November 2019
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Suspension of SPS Throughcare Support Service
25th July 2019
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Management of Offenders (Scotland) Bill
1st July 2019
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Presumption Against Short Sentences (PASS)
28th June 2019
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UN Committee Against Torture - Key Concerns
11th March 2019
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New Strapline Brief
28th January 2019
2018
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Call for Submissions: 40th Anniversary Conference 'Reimagining the Future'
20th December 2018
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First HLS Student Society Launches
28th September 2018
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Critical Issues in Scottish Penal Policy: Prison Reductionism
21st September 2018
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Critical Issues in Scottish Penal Policy: Disclosure of Convictions
20th September 2018
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Critical Issues in Scottish Penal Policy: Prisoner Voting Rights
19th September 2018
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Critical Issues in Scottish Penal Policy: Inequality & Imprisonment
18th September 2018
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Critical Issues in Scottish Penal Policy: Prison Officers
17th September 2018
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Remand: A life or death crisis in Scotland
8th August 2018
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Phones in Prisons: Reconnect or Rehabilitate?
11th July 2018
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Raising the bar of youth justice: the minimum age of criminal responsibility
9th July 2018
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Justice Committee Remand Report
25th June 2018
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HLS Gives Evidence to Parliament
17th May 2018
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HLS Management of Offenders Submission
17th May 2018
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Press Release: HLS Statement on Equality and Human Rights Committee
14th May 2018
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Committee Recommends ban on prisoner voting should be removed in its entirety
14th May 2018
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Call for Trustees
9th May 2018
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Achieving Social Justice in 2018: Prisoner Voting Rights
19th April 2018
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Scottish Prisons in Comparative Perspective
20th March 2018
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HLS Welcomes Increase in Minimum Age of Criminal Responsibility
14th March 2018
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Scotland Must Reform Life Sentences
12th March 2018
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International Women's Day
8th March 2018
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Crime falls, but the prison remains
28th February 2018
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Proposed Advances in Electronic Monitoring
28th February 2018
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Vision for Scottish Penal Reform in 2018
21st February 2018
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Spent Convictions Legislation
14th February 2018
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How long until my conviction is spent?
14th February 2018
2017
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Evidence on prisoner voting rights for Equalities and Human Rights Committee
7th September 2017
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Howard League Scotland response to Scottish Government's 2017/18 Programme for Government
6th September 2017
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Reviewing progress on female imprisonment in Scotland
26th June 2017
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HOWARD LEAGUE SCOTLAND RESPONSE TO DRAFT SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM BILL (2016)
13th March 2017
2016
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Scottish prisons design capacity and average daily populations (2015/16)
20th September 2016
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HLS response on minimum age of criminal responsibility
23rd June 2016
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2016 HOLYROOD ELECTIONS: REVIEW OF PARTY MANIFESTOS
29th April 2016
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Statement on presumption against short periods of imprisonment
9th February 2016
2015
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Response from Howard League Scotland to consultation on proposals to strengthen the presumption against short periods of imprisonment
23rd December 2015
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Briefing on Community Justice (Scotland) Bill
19th November 2015
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Howard League Scotland website problems
20th October 2015
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Reform of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
7th September 2015
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Guest blog: Restructuring Community Justice in Scotland
1st September 2015
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Response to Scottish Government announcement on women offenders
22nd June 2015
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Prisoners (Control of Release) Bill - Stage 3 briefing
21st June 2015
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Women's Penal Policy Campaign Still Needs Champions
18th April 2015
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Latest Crime and Punishment Statistics Scotland
23rd March 2015
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Perspectives from inside Barlinnie
23rd March 2015
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Prisoner Voting
23rd March 2015
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Experiencing Long-term Imprisonment in Scotland
23rd March 2015
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Standards for Inspecting and Monitoring Prisons in Scotland
23rd March 2015
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Automatic Early Release
27th February 2015
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Prisoners (Control of Release) (Scotland) Bill Feb 2015
24th February 2015
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Blueprint for Reform
19th February 2015
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Automatic Early Release
4th February 2015
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Inverclyde in the news
26th January 2015
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Howard League Scotland welcomes bold decision on Inverclyde
26th January 2015
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HLS in the news: automatic early release
19th January 2015
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Ban on automatic early release
13th January 2015
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Grampian Prison Radio Station
13th January 2015
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January 2015 Scottish Prison Population
12th January 2015
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Pat Carlen on Women in Prison - an indictment of society
7th January 2015
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Death, Addiction and Decay - Health matters in Scottish prisons
5th January 2015
2014
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Inverclyde - a new year's resolution?
18th December 2014
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Can Prison Work?
1st December 2014
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New Cabinet Secretary for Justice
21st November 2014
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Ageing Prison Population
19th November 2014
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People in prison: a snapshot
5th November 2014
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Possible Smoking Ban in Scottish Prisons
3rd November 2014
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Scottish Government’s Draft Budget 2015-16
3rd November 2014
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Scottish Imprisonment - Recent trends and Costs
31st October 2014
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HLS Convenor, John Scott QC, Annual SACRO Lecture
30th October 2014
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Prison Visiting Committee Reform
30th October 2014
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Lord Carloway Drummond Hunter Lecture - full paper
27th October 2014
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Scottish Government’s Draft Budget 2014/15
11th October 2014
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Scottish Government: What Works to Reduce Crime?
10th October 2014
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Prison Population
8th October 2014
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Rehabilitation and Resettlement
8th October 2014
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Getting it Right For Every Child
6th October 2014
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Youth Justice Under the Radar
6th October 2014
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Extended Family Visits
6th October 2014
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Is prison the only future for women's penal policy?
1st October 2014
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Baroness Corston: Inverclyde prison 'will fail'
1st October 2014
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Scottish Imprisonment September 2014
26th September 2014
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Greenock Inspection
26th September 2014
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Howard League Scotland calls for voting rights for prisoners
23rd September 2014
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VOTERS ASKED TO REMEMBER THOSE WITH NO VOICE
18th September 2014
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Prison Population - September 2014
9th September 2014
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Prison Population - September 2014
9th September 2014
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Past, Present & Future - Women's Penal Policy
20th August 2014
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HMP Grampian - Incapacitant Spray Used
13th August 2014
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A Shine Mentor on Women Offenders: From Where I Stand...
11th August 2014
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SPS Annual Report 2013-2014
16th July 2014
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Prison Population - July 2014
11th July 2014
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Scottish Prisoner Voting Arrangements
3rd July 2014
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Breaking the Cycle of Building Bigger Prisons
1st July 2014
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HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Report 2013-2014 Published
25th June 2014
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The problem with prison population predictions
12th June 2014
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SPS Prisoner Surveys 2011-2013
10th June 2014
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SPS Custodial History and Substance Misuse 2014
6th June 2014
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Scottish Prison Population May 2014
4th June 2014
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Criminal Justice Social Work Annual Report 2012-13
29th May 2014
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SCCJR Report on Training for SPS Staff
26th May 2014
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Prison Transformation in Dominican Republic
24th May 2014
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WHO Report on Prison Health Care
24th May 2014
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Problems Implementing Human Rights in Prison Practice
20th May 2014
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Automatic Early Release May 2014
16th May 2014
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Prison and Desistance - (Re)turning point?
15th May 2014
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PQ re pregnant women in HMP Inverclyde
14th May 2014
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PQ on healthcare services for HMP Inverclyde
14th May 2014
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PQ on transport links to Inverclyde
14th May 2014
-
PQ on Inverclyde - which experts consulted in design phase?
14th May 2014
-
PQ on Inverclyde - different security levels?
14th May 2014
-
Children are 'Innocent Victims' of imprisonment
14th May 2014
-
PQ on Inverclyde Family Visiting Facilities
14th May 2014
-
Proposal to end automatic early release
12th May 2014
-
Prison Population - May 2014
11th May 2014
-
Startling Differences in Regional Imprisonment Rates
2nd May 2014
-
Moral Panic or Moral Crusade?
1st May 2014
-
Moral Panic or Moral Crusade?
1st May 2014
-
Criminal Justice Social Work Annual Report 2012-13
1st May 2014
-
Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill - Women's Penal Policy
24th April 2014
-
218 Service - Case Studies
18th April 2014
-
218 Project - Women's Penal Policy
18th April 2014
-
Anne Pinkman, SWGWO - Women's Penal Policy
17th April 2014
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Karyn McCluskey,Violence Reduction - Women's Penal Policy
17th April 2014
-
Maura Daly, Circle - Women's Penal Policy
16th April 2014
-
Sarah Roberts, Families Outside - Women's Penal Policy
16th April 2014
-
Tam Bailie, Commissioner for Children and Young People
15th April 2014
-
CJA Chief Officers - Women's Penal Policy
15th April 2014
-
Thinking about women's penal policy
14th April 2014
-
Thinking about women's penal policy
14th April 2014
-
Thinking about women's penal policy
14th April 2014
-
Thinking about women's penal policy
14th April 2014
-
Howard League Scotland in the News
14th April 2014
-
Dr Margaret Malloch - Women's Penal Policy
14th April 2014
-
Tom Halpin, Sacro - Women's Penal Policy
14th April 2014
-
What's right for women offenders?
13th April 2014
-
CPT Recommendations Scotland - March 2014
27th March 2014
-
Scotland's Prison Population 1998-2013
5th March 2014
-
Scottish Sentences
13th February 2014
-
HLS Event in the News
13th February 2014
-
Scottish Prisons in the News
7th February 2014
-
Recruiting ex-offenders - James Timpson Lecture
3rd February 2014
-
Prison Visiting Committee Reform
30th January 2014
-
Scottish Prison Population 3rd January 2014
21st January 2014
-
Prison Policy in the News
18th January 2014
2013
-
Women Offenders
23rd December 2013
-
Children and Young People (Scotland) Bill
23rd December 2013
-
Prisoner voting and the independence referendum
23rd December 2013
-
Independent monitoring of prisons
23rd December 2013
-
Appointment of Howard League Scotland’s first President
23rd December 2013
-
Female Imprisonment in Scotland - Survey 2013
12th December 2013
-
Scottish Crime and Convictions Figures 2012-2013
26th November 2013
-
Justice Budget 2014/15
11th October 2013
-
Howard League Scotland Calls On MSPs To Let Short Term Prisoners Vote In The Independence Referendum
12th September 2013
-
SPS Annual Report 2012-13
1st July 2013
-
Prisoner Voting
21st March 2013
2012
-
Angiolini Commission on Women Offenders
1st May 2012
2011
-
Scottish Survey - Female Offenders (2011)
1st December 2011
-
SCCJR: Female Imprisonment in Scotland
31st October 2011
-
Cornton Vale Inspector of Prisons Report 2011
11th June 2011
2009
-
SCCJR Report on Developing Sentencing & Penal Policy
9th August 2009
2006
-
Women in Prison in Scotland, SCCCJ Report
3rd November 2006