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| “We have invested in breaking the cycle of offending and imprisonment, and in tough community-based sentencing. I want us to build on the progress that has resulted in Scotland having the lowest level of reoffending rates in more than a decade, in particular through the sort of preventative spending that delivers better outcomes at lower cost and reduces demand for a range of services" Kenny MacAskill MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, The Scottish Government, September 2011 |
Scotland’s rate of imprisonment of offenders is acknowledged as one of the worst in Europe and has become a major source of political disquiet as figures released in November 2011 identify Scotland’s prison population to have creeped north of 8,000. Recently Scotland’s largest prison Barlinnie was criticised in an inspectorate report for massive overcrowding and Cornton Vale, Scotland’s only prison for female offenders, has been described to be in “a state of crisis”. Responding to the report, Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill commented on the need to reduce the number of those entering into the prison system through a combination of prevention, intervention and reducing reoffending measures, as well as the need generally to assess the value of short term prison sentences. Read more... |
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Keynote speakers
Deputy Director of Community Justice, The Scottish Government
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons
Chief Executive, Howard League for Penal Reform