An excellent report from the SCCJR which is aimed at policymakers highlights key concerns for Scottish penal reformers.

• More people in prison in Scotland are there for remand (awaiting trial or awaiting sentence) than to serve a custodial sentence.
• For every woman sentenced to prison in Scotland, two women are sent to prison on remand.
• This in part can explain why Scotland’s imprisonment rate has increased so drastically in the last 15 years.

Policy suggestions:

• The report argues that to stem the overreliance on imprisonment in Scotland courts should make greater use of community sentences, which is a more productive and meaningful punishment as it ‘involves making good to the victim and/or the community'.
• We need to highlight the extent of the remand problem.
• Engage with the public and increase public confidence in the criminal justice system.

Read the report here: SCCJR, Prisons and Sentencing Reform: Developing Policy in Scotland