Following the news of July 2019 that the Scottish Prison Service planned to temporarily suspend its Throughcare service due to staffing pressures linked to the rising prison population, it was announced on 25 September 2019, that the 'New Routes' and 'Shine' partnerships led by the Wise Group and Sacro respectively, would make support available for more prisoners released from short term sentences of up to four years. 

The Throughcare service previously provided by SPS had been widely praised. We support the reintroduction of this vital service, but lament the need for the redeployment of the 42 Throughcare Support Officers to front-line duties as a result of the increasingly high prison population and rates of absence amongst SPS prison staff.

Reintroduction of Throughcare Support Service

Based on extensive interviews with long-term prisoners in Scotland, this fantastic 2 page essay from Dr Marguerite Schinkel in SJM illuminates how long-term prisoners experience their sentence, anger about the en masse rehabilitation process and trying to desist when back in the community while faced with the life long burden of having to disclose a criminal record.

Read the full article here: Fair Enough | Scottish Justice Matters | Vol 3 | Number 1 | March 2015