The proposed abolition of the corroboration rule in criminal cases in Scotland has sparked heated debate in the legal industry and implementation of the reform will apparently be delayed until a more detailed review on the impact of the change has been completed. News of the delay came from Scotland's [...]

HMP Edinburgh is a well-run penal institution and upholds good practices in 18 areas. However, purposeful activity for inmates is not strictly among them and the second largest prison in Scotland should undertake a review to ensure that its entire population gets access to sufficient activities, according to David Strang, [...]

The Scottish government has announced changes in the planning, management and delivery of offender services. The aim is to further improve the community justice system, building on the success achieved so far in reducing crime and reconviction rates. Every year, the government spends £100 million on community sentence delivery, rehabilitation [...]

Shortly after Scottish police reported the lowest levels in crime rates in almost four decades, statistics revealed by chief constable Sir Stephen House showed that some parts of Scotland are witnessing a sudden, sharp rise in "acquisitive" crimes and sexual offences. Acquisitive crime includes burglary, robbery, and other types of [...]

The number of firearms offences in Scotland has reached the lowest level in a decade since records began, after rates fell by almost a third in a year, figures from a new report by the country's Chief Statistician revealed. In 2012/2013, there were 365 firearms offences registered, down on 535 [...]

Campaigners have urged Scottish motorists to switch off their mobile phones when driving in a bid to improve general road safety. Statistics reveal that almost 85,000 drivers in Scotland have been given points for talking on their phones while driving. These figures suggest that current measures are not effective enough, [...]

A senior Scottish judge has announced that Scotland's justice system should take a more civilised approach to sentencing, and place more weight on rehabilitation rather than retribution. Currently, judges are not entitled to determine what rehabilitation measures can be put in place after sentencing offenders but Lord Carloway, Scotland's second [...]

The 2012/2013 Scottish Policing Performance Framework (SPPF) report revealed 809,483 crimes and offences for the final year of the eight regional police forces. According to Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, this is the lowest number recorded in nearly four decades, noting that a particularly encouraging development is the sharp drop in [...]

Lord Hope of Craighead, former deputy president of the UK Supreme Court and Lord Justice General of Scotland until 1996, has raised concerns over plans to abolish a critical safeguard in Scottish law. His fear relates to the proposed removal of corroboration, which could lead to convictions being based on [...]