Scotland’s independent think tank
Landlines in cells could help prisoners maintain links with families and contribute towards rehabilitation Reform Scotland, the independent think tank, has called for a pilot scheme in Scottish prisons to offer prisoners a landline phone in their cell. At present, Scottish prisoners can only access a telephone at certain times and often in communal settings. …
Reform Scotland’s latest publication, Reforming Prison aims to contribute to the debate on how to better rehabilitate prisoners. One of the central recommendations is focused on expanding the opportunities for prisoners to maintain contact with their families. Evidence suggests that maintaining close family ties can help prevent reoffending. However, due to distance or circumstance some …
The briefing, Reinventing local policing, welcomes the emphasis placed on localism and accountability within the Scottish Government’s consultation on police priorities, while highlighting concerns about how that can practically be implemented under the current structure. The briefing also welcomes the consultation proposal to abolish the arbitrary ‘1000 extra officers’ target, which Reform Scotland called for in …
This report builds on the work Reform Scotland has done in Power to Protect (2008) and Striking the Balance (2011) which both examined the structure of policing in Scotland. We believe that just because the law is set centrally, it doesn’t mean that we need to have a centralised police system, and it is vital …
On 7 September 2011 the Scottish Government unveiled its legislative programme which included proposals to create a single Scottish police force – a centralising move that Reform Scotland has opposed (see ‘Striking the balance’). The key theme to the Scottish Government’s argument was to save money and protect its pledge of 1,000 extra officers compared …
The Scottish Government is currently considering merging Scotland’s eight police forces to create a single Scottish police force. According to the consultation, the driving force behind the proposals to merge Scotland’s police forces is to save money. It is possible merging all of Scotland’s police forces together will save money in the long term, although …
’Power to Protect’ assesses the problem of crime in Scotland by examining key indicators and the solutions currently in place to address criminal behaviour, compares those crime levels with those in other countries and outlines what lessons Scotland can learn to make the country safer and reduce crime rates. Despite huge amount of money being …