The Scottish government is looking to introduce legislation to end inmates' rights to automatic early release. Whilst broadly supported by MSPs, the plan has raised concerns that only a fraction of the prisoner population will be affected by the change; Holyrood's Justice Committee has stated it is uncomfortable with the [...]

As Police Scotland celebrates its first anniversary this week, figures continue to surface detailing the progress made since the creation of the force last April. Chief Superintendent Julian Innes, divisional commander for the Highlands and Islands, expressed great satisfaction with the results. During a meeting of the Scottish Police Authority [...]

This week marks the first anniversary of the territorial police forces merger that created Police Scotland. For Edinburgh police officers, this has been a predominantly a positive year regarding crime and solvency rates, but it has also had its failures – most notably the sharp increase in break-ins, as figures [...]

Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie is pushing for an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill that would stop voluntary police stop-and-searches in Scotland. The Liberal Democrat leader wants the practice abolished and legislation introduced to ensure that police are unable to abuse such a power and the freedoms of innocent citizens [...]

In 2009, Inverclyde became the first testing ground for the "No Knives Better Lives" programme. Since then, crimes including the handling of offensive weapons have plummeted by 60% in the council area, while the violent crime rate has dropped by 33%. These figures were announced by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill [...]

The Scottish Government is considering introducing a local equivalent of what has come to be known as "Clare's Law" in England and Wales. Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, has expressed a willingness to consider the introduction of such a scheme, which is focused on domestic abuse. The idea has the [...]

Sir Stephen House, Chief Constable of Police Scotland, has admitted that police officers have on occasion reported non-existent stop-and-search encounters. According to Sir Stephen, the vast majority of stop-searches are conducted in a proper manner but it would be "naive" to believe that is no falsifying of cases. Sir Stephen [...]

Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill has confirmed that the country will have its own standalone human trafficking legislation. The proposed Human Trafficking Bill for Scotland is expected to receive the support of the Scottish government before the current parliamentary session comes to an end, Holyrood magazine has reported. The proposals [...]

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) is debating the draft Police Scotland budget for 2014-2016, which contains a proposal representing a first in Scottish police history: the use of seized proceeds to support policing activities. The idea has come to be known as "gangster tax" and was first put forward in [...]

Scottish police have been given a new weapon in their fight against serious organised crime after the government supported the introduction of new serious crime prevention orders (SCPOs). The orders, which have come to be known as "super Asbos," are specifically designed to crack down on Scotland's top crime bosses [...]