Scottish Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission report: Justice That Works

Executive Summary

In recent decades, Scotland has consistently had one of the highest prison population rates in Western Europe. In October 2025, Scotland’s prison population reached its then highest ever recorded level of 8430 and the Scottish Parliament agreed to more tranches of emergency release of some short-term prisoners to support an immediate reduction in the prison population. Further rises would push the system beyond its limit. Behind the numbers are very difficult living and working conditions which limit opportunities for rehabilitation. Yet this is not simply another report about prisons, it goes much wider and deeper than that.

Scotland’s penal system is once again at a critical inflection point. That is why in February 2025, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, Angela Constance MSP, announced in Parliament that the work of the Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission was now underway and would deliver detailed, actionable recommendations for change by the end of the year.

The remit of this independent commission has been to consider how imprisonment and community-based interventions are used in Scotland and make recommendations to ensure that Scotland has a sustainable prison population. In this report we have taken a holistic approach that makes ambitious recommendations for change at each key stage in the system, including prevention, direct measures, bail and remand, community sentencing, release from custody and community reintegration. We have also looked more broadly at how to strengthen the delivery of community justice structures, and how to foster the effective data sharing and analysis required for evidence-informed policymaking. Accountability and leadership are themes which underpin what we say and recommend.

Our report recognises and builds upon the work of those who have gone before us, especially the Scottish Prison Commission (‘McLeish Commission’) in 2008, and subsequent relevant reviews and reports. We analyse what has held Scottish justice back in making bigger changes and deeper shifts since (Annex B), setting out recommendations for change and planning for much longer horizons. Our report also recognises that the Commission has greatly benefited from insights offered by people across the length and breadth of this nation.

We believe that to take our recommendations forward is an invitation to choose a different path for Scotland – one that uses imprisonment more wisely; reduces reoffending and leads to fewer victims, strengthens community responses, and makes prevention a genuine driver of public service delivery. Realising that vision will require political leadership, sustained investment, and a shared commitment across government and society. With determination and a sound grasp of the evidence, Scotland can transform its justice system to create a fairer and more effective, society for all of us.

The Report and Recommendations are structured as follows:

Chapter One: A critical inflection point – sentencing and imprisonment in Scotland: updated trends

A snapshot of the criminal justice system and a brief overview of the challenges that Scotland faces, to give an indication of the scale of the problem. While these are very real now, they are not inevitable. This chapter links to our previous interim paper which sets out the context in substantially more detail, and includes the following points:

• Scotland consistently has one of the highest prison population rates in Western Europe.
• The prison population has just reached its highest ever levels and is significantly over capacity.
• In 2024-25, 31% of all prisoners arrived from 10% of the most deprived areas in Scotland.
• 73% of custodial sentences received by people in 2023-24 were for one year or less, and sentences of three to six months were the most common over the past decade, making up 30% of all custodial sentences in 2023-24.
• However, short prison sentences of a year or less have higher reconviction rates, and cost substantially more than Community Payback Orders.
• The average length of custodial sentences, excluding life sentences and Orders for Lifelong Restriction, rose by 37% from 2014-15 to 2023-24.
• In the most recent Scottish Crime and Justice Survey 2023/2024, 92% agreed prisons should help prisoners change their behaviour rather than just punish them and 55% agreed that only those who commit the most serious crimes should be put in prison. Most people supported community sentences, and believed them to be a better response for a minor offence rather than a short prison sentence.
• Other European nations have made sentencing reforms and reduced prison populations, without compromising public safety and trust. Scotland can too.

Chapter Two: Before crime happens: prevention and support

A strengthened preventative approach to crime in Scotland is needed to address the deep social and economic conditions that shape offending, including poverty, trauma, inequality, poor health, unstable housing and limited opportunity. Prevention is about acting early – before harm occurs and before people enter the criminal justice system – so that individuals and families receive the right support at the right time. Current investment remains weighted toward managing crime after it occurs rather than reducing the risks that lead to harm. A shift toward prevention would lessen victimisation, ease pressure on prisons and create capacity for public services to focus on long-term outcomes. The inequalities and vulnerabilities that are disproportionately reflected in Scotland’s courts and prisons underline the case for investing earlier in services and social safety nets. Expanded early-intervention programmes, community supports and evidence-led approaches that address root causes would offer more sustainable reductions in crime. Greater coordination across public bodies, improved targeting of resources and clearer national direction would help embed prevention as a central organising principle of justice policy.

Chapter Three: Use of early interventions and alternatives to court proceedings

Many people who offend could be better supported through direct measures and early-intervention pathways instead of formal prosecution, which often escalates problems, increases stigma and limits opportunities for change. Acting earlier allows the justice system to respond proportionately while avoiding unnecessary criminalisation. Proportionate measures – such as warnings, fiscal penalties, restorative options and diversion linked to mental-health, substance-use or social-work support – show strong evidence of effectiveness. Broader, more consistent use of these approaches across Scotland would reduce court demand, shorten delays, improve victims’ experience and provide constructive alternatives that interrupt cycles of offending. Inconsistent availability and use of direct measures risks undermining fairness and public confidence. Stronger partnerships between justice agencies, health services and community organisations would enhance delivery. Clearer national guidance, improved public understanding and transparent monitoring of outcomes would strengthen confidence in direct measures as a credible and fair response. Used well, these approaches support both public protection and better long-term outcomes by addressing underlying needs rather than entrenching harm.

• Recommendation 3.1: Extend the whole system approach to those under 25, focused initially on particular cohorts such as prolific offenders. Lead partner - Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 3.2: When using alternatives to court proceedings victims should be informed and supported throughout the process. Lead partners - Police Scotland and Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS).
• Recommendation 3.3: Consider introducing higher tiers of Antisocial Behaviour Fixed Penalty Notices to allow the police to offer these proportionate to an individual’s ability to pay. Lead partners – Scottish Government and Police Scotland.
• Recommendation 3.4: Consider making s38 offences eligible for Police Antisocial Behaviour Fixed Penalty Notices and ascertain if there are further statutory offences that would be suitable for police direct measure. Lead partners – Scottish Government, COPFS, and Police Scotland.
• Recommendation 3.5: Consider widening the actions available to the Police to include the ability to divert an individual to Justice Social Work or third sector services. Lead partners – Scottish Government, Police Scotland, COPFS, Justice Social Work and third sector.
• Recommendation 3.6: Increase the number of accused persons diverted from prosecution and ensure that all people referred by COPFS for consideration are assessed for diversion and when suitable are diverted from prosecution. Lead partners - COPFS and Justice Social Work.
• Recommendation 3.7: COPFS should have the ability to issue “behaviour orders” to the accused. Lead partner – COPFS and Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 3.8: Substantially increase the use of Fiscal work orders. Lead partners – COPFS and Justice Social Work.
• Recommendation 3.9: COPFS, should carry out an analysis in consultation with victims’ groups, of a sample of recent cases which attracted a fine of less than £500 from courts. This will provide a better understanding of which types of offences could be more effectively addressed with a fiscal fine and/or compensation order. Lead partners – COPFS and victims’ groups.

Chapter Four: Crossing the line: entering the court system

One of the defining moments in a journey into the justice system is whether a person is remanded in custody, rather than being ordained to appear or granted bail in the community. High use of remand continues to create substantial harm, including loss of housing, employment, income and family stability, alongside poor access to purposeful activity or support. Remand is most appropriate only where a custodial sentence of more than two years is likely or where risk clearly cannot be managed in the community. People should not be remanded in custody as a place of safety or because they have fundamental unmet needs, such as housing.

Embedding this principle in law, strengthening bail support, improving communication with accused people and expanding access to supported accommodation would reduce avoidable detention, including cases where homelessness becomes a barrier to release. Remanding people accused of minor crimes, or those who fail to attend court due to disorganisation, is disproportionate. More can be done in communities to support bail, leaving the use of remand for those who pose a risk to victim and public safety in cases where a custodial sentence is likely.

• Recommendation 4.1: The bail framework must explicitly exclude the possibility of remanding individuals in custody when there is no real prospect of a custodial sentence of more than 24 months if they are convicted of the offence of which they are accused. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 4.2: Ensure individuals on remand receive equal opportunity to access meaningful activities and treatment. Lead partner – Scottish Prison Service (SPS).
• Recommendation 4.3: Improve the application of national standards for bail supervision to ensure greater consistency, and to increase confidence of victims and judiciary. Lead partner – National Social Work Agency.
• Recommendation 4.4: Improve court communications with those on bail, including consideration of an electronic ‘nudge’ service and supportive outreach advice. Lead partner – Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).
• Recommendation 4.5: Place a specific statutory obligation on local authorities to provide, on basis of need: (1) appropriate emergency accommodation prior to any bail decision, and (2) longer term accommodation for all those who require it after being released on bail. This may include the provision of bail hostels, residential rehabilitation establishments or similar accommodation, along with the necessary support and interventions. Lead partners – Scottish Government and local authorities.
• Recommendation 4.6: Regularly review the courts’ power to extend the period of remand to ensure that its use does not become established as routine practice. Lead partners – Scottish Government and SCTS.

Chapter Five: At the crossroads: the sentencing decision

Short prison sentences are not effective at reducing reoffending and often destabilise lives by disrupting housing, employment, treatment and family ties. Community sentences offer a more effective route to rehabilitation but are not consistently prioritised. Sentencing decisions in individual cases remain a matter for the independent judiciary. A move toward prohibiting custodial sentences under 12 months – with limited exceptions – and in the meantime extending the presumption against short sentences to 24 months would support more consistent decision-making. Requiring judges to explain why community options were insufficient would enhance transparency. Judicial communication offers an opportunity to strengthen open justice and public understanding of sentencing decisions. Additional investment in community interventions, improved public information and stronger protective measures for victims would strengthen confidence in non-custodial approaches.

• Recommendation 5.1: Scottish Ministers must immediately engage with their counterparts in the UK Government to clarify the position regarding the Scottish Government’s ability to prohibit sentences of under 12 months in respect of UK wide statutory criminal offences and, if need be, seek this power. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 5.2: Extend the presumption against short sentences (PASS) to 24 months. When passing a sentence of fewer than 24 months, members of the judiciary should provide a written note of all the available alternatives considered and why, bearing in mind the particular facts and circumstances of the case, no other method of dealing with the person was appropriate. Data on the reasons provided should be gathered in a format that is amenable to systematic collation and analysis. Lead partners – Scottish Government and Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).
• Recommendation 5.3: Ensure victims have access to clear, accurate, accessible information about the sentence of the person convicted, including, if on a custodial sentence, their earliest possible release date, and when they are released. Lead partners – Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and SCTS.
• Recommendation 5.4: There should be further consideration of the reasons some Non Harassment Orders are not granted by courts, and whether the proportion that are granted can be increased. Lead partners – Judicial Institute, SCTS and victims’ groups.
• Recommendation 5.5: Systematically gather data to inform consideration of whether sentences have become “inflated” and whether any action requires to be taken to address this. Lead partners – Scottish Sentencing Council and Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 5.6: Make data and information regarding current sentencing practice publicly available to be used in awareness raising and education to help address misconceptions and improve public understanding. Lead partners - Scottish Sentencing Council and SCTS.
• Recommendation 5.7: Develop criteria to be considered when parliament seeks to create new offences, which includes a detailed analysis of the likely impact on the prison population and associated costs which is published. All new offences, or changes to existing offences, created by government, must be approved by the Cabinet Secretary for Justice to ensure they adhere to these criteria before being put before Parliament. Lead partner - Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 5.8: The Scottish Sentencing Council should issue a guideline on how children’s rights should be considered at the point of sentencing of parents and primary carers. Lead partner – Scottish Sentencing Council.

Chapter Six: Paths in the community: changing lives to leave crime behind

High-quality community sentences remain underused despite strong evidence that they reduce reoffending more effectively than short prison terms. While community sentences and community justice may attract less public attention than prisons and policing, they form a substantial part of the justice system and are central to its effectiveness. Rigid systems, inconsistent availability of programmes and limited discretion for justice social workers hinder effective delivery. Greater flexibility, simplified requirements, more unpaid work opportunities, expansion of problem-solving approaches and modernised electronic monitoring paired with meaningful support would strengthen outcomes. Outcomes should be delivered in ways that are person-centred and place-based, recognising different needs and local contexts. Rural and island areas require adaptable, locally tailored responses to ensure parity of provision. There should be clearer national standards, better communication with the public and improved responses to breaches of court orders – including wider use of early discharge where appropriate. If the prison population is to be reduced sustainably, justice social work and community services will require increased investment and support.

• Recommendation 6.1: Strengthen policy on compliance and breach for community sentences which considers how to provide social workers with more discretion and flexibility to take a person-centred approach. Lead partner – National Social Work Agency.
• Recommendation 6.2: Update guidance for Justice Social Workers based on a set of principles aligned with recovery and trauma, to ensure there is consistent practice across Scotland to support people on community orders. For example, seeking early discharge, providing support where appropriate to prevent escalation of breaches, and taking a more intensive approach where required (using learning from Northern Ireland’s Enhanced Combination Order model). Lead partner – National Social Work Agency.
• Recommendation 6.3: Establish a review of Community Payback Orders. It should examine evidence as to which requirements are being used effectively and which are not – and why. This can inform decision-making on whether the current CPO “menu” of requirements in legislation would benefit from simplification, as well as added options and flexibility. Lead partners – Scottish Government and National Social Work Agency.
• Recommendation 6.4: The review of CPOs should include a focus on unpaid work to consider opportunities to improve its delivery as part of both CPOs and fiscal work orders, to make it more consistently purposeful, effective and visible to communities across Scotland, while maximising opportunities to support people into employment and develop life skills. Whether the current number of unpaid work hours that can be imposed is optimal is worth considering in this. Lead partners – Scottish Government, Community Justice Scotland and Justice Social Work.
• Recommendation 6.5: Evolve the Drug Treatment and Testing Order model into a Substance Misuse Treatment Order, enabling courts to address both drug and alcohol-related offending. This integrated approach would better reflect the realities of addiction in Scotland, provide more holistic support, and improve outcomes for individuals and communities. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 6.6: Implement different electronic monitoring (EM) technologies, contained in the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Act 2019. Their use should be integrated with good assessment and support. The extent to which EM technologies are used “wisely and well,” and the extent to which their use meets different sentencing aims and community justice outcomes, should be carefully and closely examined by relevant Inspectorate and scrutiny bodies, and through research and data analysis. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 6.7: Ensure every sheriffdom has problem-solving capacity and problem-solving approaches are encouraged through appropriate judicial training so this approach can be taken in all sheriff courts. Lead partners – Sheriffs Principal and the Judicial Institute.
• Recommendation 6.8: Ensure structured deferred sentences are used more consistently in all sheriff courts. Lead partners – Sheriffs Principal and the Judicial Institute.
• Recommendation 6.9: Legislate to allow a person who has offended to be granted an absolute discharge at the end of a Structured Deferred Sentence if they change their behaviour and co-operate fully, to avoid the negative impacts of a conviction. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 6.10: Increase funding for the public and third sector services that underpin delivery of high quality community disposals. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 6.11: Victims must be able to access clear, accurate information about the sentence of the person convicted, including appropriate relevant details regarding any specific court order and, if in respect of a community sentence, the relevant restrictions placed on an individual when in the community. Lead partners – SCTS and COPFS.
• Recommendation 6.12: Conduct a programme of research to ascertain the public comprehension of key sentencing terms and work together to develop language that will be more widely understood. Lead partners – The Scottish Sentencing Council (SSC) and Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 6.13: Devise a national communication strategy to ensure the public are better informed about the content of sentences which can be imposed and the circumstances they apply to. Lead partners – Scottish Government, in collaboration with Community Justice Scotland, and the SSC.

Chapter Seven: Custody, accountability and making progress

Overcrowding, ageing infrastructure and limited access to programmes significantly undermine rehabilitation, safety and wellbeing in Scotland’s prisons. Prisons can become places of wasted time and missed opportunities, at significant human and financial cost. Purposeful activity, education, health support and progression opportunities remain inconsistent, and delays in accessing interventions impede preparation for release. A clearer rehabilitation strategy, greater transparency on programme availability and broader indicators of progress would strengthen accountability and outcomes. Addressing poor conditions and crowding is a necessary step in moving away from this cycle and enabling progress. Faster access to interventions, better continuity between prison and community services and improved support for family contact would enhance reintegration. Restoring release at the two-thirds point would create more structured time under supervision, in communities. More consistent use of compassionate release would support dignity in cases of severe illness or age-related frailty.

• Recommendation 7.1: The Scottish Prison Service must articulate and publish its approach to rehabilitation for the purposes of reducing reoffending. SPS must be more transparent about the action it takes to provide activities aimed at reducing reoffending, making clear that this extends beyond a narrow reliance on programme attendance. Lead partner – Scottish Prison Service (SPS).
• Recommendation 7.2: Consider recognising a wider range of rehabilitation markers than completion of rehabilitative courses when considering parole applications. Lead partner – Parole Board for Scotland.
• Recommendation 7.3: Consider whether a limited remit for the Scottish Advisory Panel on Offender Rehabilitation (SAPOR) misses an opportunity for broader focus on rehabilitation beyond accreditation of programmes. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 7.4: Report on the evidence base for all programmes delivered by SPS. Lead partners – SAPOR and SPS.
• Recommendation 7.5: Prioritise accreditation of programme modules that can continue from prisons into the community, particularly in relation to life skills. Lead partner – SAPOR.
• Recommendation 7.6: Adopt, wherever possible, a peripatetic approach to the delivery of programmes. Lead partner – SPS.
• Recommendation 7.7: Consider the distinction between short- and long-term determinate sentences and whether this remains appropriate in the contemporary context. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 7.8: Introduce legislation to amend the point of eligibility for release under licence conditions for long-term prisoners to two thirds so that they receive more supervision and support in the community. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 7.9: Assess the impact that changes to the timing of prisoner release on licence to supervised reintegration will have on justice social work and local authority budgets and other resource pressures and ensure there is adequate resourcing in place before implementing that change. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 7.10: Review guidance about the scope and use of the power to release a prisoner on compassionate grounds. This should set out circumstances beyond terminal illness and include ageing health and need of social care. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 7.11: Ensure routine assessment of the needs and risks of older prisoners on reaching the age of 60. Either as part of an expansion of compassionate release (see recommendation 7.10), or as a separate mechanism. There should be the ability to transfer and manage in community-based contexts (including disability and aged care settings) in those cases who are assessed as appropriate. Lead partners – SPS and Health and Social Care Partnerships.

Chapter Eight: The road home: reintegration and reducing reoffending

Preparation for release continues to vary widely, leaving many people without adequate support to secure housing, income, healthcare or other essentials. Such gaps heighten the risk of relapse, homelessness and reoffending, particularly for individuals serving short sentences or held on remand. Reintegration is not a single event at the prison gate but a process that begins in custody and depends on continuity, coordination and trust between services.

Mandatory multi-agency planning – uniting prisons, social work, health, housing and voluntary organisations – would create more reliable reintegration pathways. A needs-based approach extending support beyond long-term prisoners is essential, especially for those who cycle repeatedly through the system. Failure to provide timely, joined-up support shifts risk into communities and undermines the effectiveness of sentencing decisions.

Rehabilitation should build practical skills, strengthen treatment for mental-health and substance-use issues and enhance employability. Transitional accommodation improved throughcare and stronger community links are crucial components of stable reintegration and long-term public safety.

• Recommendation 8.1: Commence the remainder of Part 2 of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023 as a matter of priority to allow for better preparation for release from custody. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 8.2: Collect data about the frequency of short-term sentences being served, and about any long-term prisoners who have previously served a short-term sentence. This would provide an evidence base for the likely cohort that could be addressed by social work provision, on a needs basis, among the short-term population. Lead partners – Scottish Government working with Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) and Justice Social Work.
• Recommendation 8.3: Resource prison-based social work to provide statutory reports and risk assessments but also support on basis of need. This should be extended to short-term prisoners on a needs basis rather than sentence length alone. Lead partners – Scottish Government and Justice Social Work.
• Recommendation 8.4: Increase the range and quality of purposeful activity options, and reduce disparities in the number of hours offered by different prisons. Lead partner - Scottish Prison Service (SPS).
• Recommendation 8.5: Develop a policy on transitional accommodation with individualised support, and forecast the financial implications of developing such a service. Lead partners – Scottish Government and local authority housing departments.
• Recommendation 8.6: Community Justice Partnerships should consider whether there are appropriate mentoring services in their area, targeted to those most likely to benefit. If not, take action with Community Justice Scotland to remedy this. Lead partners – Community Justice Partners, third sector, and Community Justice Scotland.
• Recommendation 8.7: Improve the coordination of liberations direct from court. Lead partners – SCTS and SPS.
• Recommendation 8.8: Publish a summary of Parole Board for Scotland decisions not to grant parole. This would allow information to be shared about the types of reasons why the relevant test has not been met. Lead partner – Parole Board for Scotland.
• Recommendation 8.9: Publish consistent data about parole rates, reasons for refusal, and assist in research to consider trends over time. Lead partner – Parole Board for Scotland.
• Recommendation 8.10: Publish information about parole in more accessible formats for the benefit of those eligible for parole. Lead partner – Parole Board for Scotland.
• Recommendation 8.11: Develop a consistent policy definition of prolific offenders and consider introducing a post-release community supervision period and/or mandated support requirements for this cohort following a short prison sentence. Lead partner – Scottish Government.

Chapter Nine: Strengthening the delivery of community justice

Fragmentation across the community justice landscape contributes to uneven supervision, support and outcomes. While local delivery enables close links with housing, health and community services, national leadership, coordination and accountability remain weak. Without clearer national direction, variation risks becoming inconsistency, weakening confidence among sentencers, practitioners and the public.

Enhanced powers for Community Justice Scotland to set standards, drive improvement and challenge poor performance would strengthen coherence. Local partnerships may require statutory status and control of budgets to improve consistency and strategic focus. Clear accountability arrangements are essential if community justice is to operate as a credible and reliable alternative to custody.

More integrated inspection, shared performance measures and additional scrutiny of court administration would improve efficiency and confidence. Strengthened risk-management oversight would support more proportionate, evidence-led practice across Scotland. Taken together, these reforms would support a more mature, outcome-focused system of community justice.

• Recommendation 9.1: Review the existing functions and powers of Community Justice Scotland and take steps to ensure that it can provide leadership actions aimed at cohesive delivery of preventative and community justice services. The review must include the ability to set standards and the power to hold statutory partners to account for meeting these. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 9.2: Review Community Justice Partnership structures which should include consideration of putting them on a statutory basis with defined duties and powers. Lead partners – Scottish Government and Community Justice Scotland (CJS) with the involvement of local and national partners and voluntary sector representative groups.
• Recommendation 9.3: Transfer responsibility for statutory guidance for Community Justice Partnerships from Scottish Ministers to Community Justice Scotland. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 9.4: Improve collaboration between existing Inspectorates on community justice inputs and outcomes. Action on Inspectorate recommendations must be monitored by the Inspectors with compliance followed up and reported upon. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 9.5: Consider the establishment of a new inspectorate to provide scrutiny of the administrative performance of the criminal courts, without encroaching on the judicial independence of decision making on criminal charges. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 9.6: Continue work to ensure that Restorative Justice processes are made consistently available throughout Scotland. Lead partners – Scottish Government, justice partners, and third sector.
• Recommendation 9.7: The Risk Management Authority (RMA) should have stronger powers to act where it identifies departures from effective, evidence-based risk assessment and management practice. If FRAME standards are not met, or if staff are not appropriately trained, the RMA should be able to enforce compliance or sanction justice bodies, potentially including review, direction, and financial penalty. Lead partners – Scottish Government and Risk Management Authority.
• Recommendation 9.8: Publish a national decarceration plan within 12 months, setting out clear milestones, modelling, and annual reporting plans, with a view to substantially reducing the prison population to that of the average Western European country. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 9.9: Consider alternative models for strategic oversight of Scotland’s criminal justice system, to deliver a more efficient and effective system. Lead partner – Scottish Government and justice partners.

Chapter Ten: Looking ahead: towards a smarter penal policy

Fragmented, outdated and often paper-based justice data limits the system’s ability to understand needs, assess risk, evaluate interventions and plan effectively. Inaccurate or incomplete information slows multi-agency working and impedes both frontline decision-making and strategic reform. Poor data quality is not a technical issue alone but a structural barrier to effective, humane and preventative justice.

A single integrated data system, supported by statutory information-sharing duties, common standards and governance through a dedicated justice data body, would improve reliability. Stronger linkages with health, housing and education data would enable better insights into the drivers of offending and the effectiveness of interventions. Improved data integration would support earlier intervention and reduce reliance on crisis-driven responses.

A justice data and research observatory could consolidate analysis and support whole-system evaluation. Investment in digital infrastructure is essential to modern, preventative and person-centred justice. A smarter penal policy depends on the ability to learn systematically from evidence and apply it consistently across the system.

• Recommendation 10.1: Establish a single consistent, integrated, and accessible, electronic justice dataset/information management system that links data across justice partners. Lead partners – Scottish Government, Police Scotland, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS), Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS), Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and Justice Social Work.
• Recommendation 10.2: Create a Scottish Justice Data Board to drive the data and information improvement agenda, setting data standards, mandating cooperation, and overseeing progress. The board should provide leadership and oversight of a national data governance framework for the single justice dataset. Lead partner – Scottish Government.
• Recommendation 10.3: Improve the provision of clear and accessible information about data collection, information uses and rights to the individuals whose data is being collected. Lead partners - Police Scotland, COPFS, SCTS, SPS, Justice Social Work, Scottish Human Rights Commission and Scottish Information Commissioner.
• Recommendation 10.4: Review and strengthen analytical capacity, resourcing and skills across the justice sector, and improve collaboration to meet the key objectives set out in chapter 10 of our report. Lead partners: Scottish Government, Police Scotland, COPFS, SCTS, SPS, Justice Social Work, Community Justice Scotland, Scottish Sentencing Council, Risk Management Authority.
• Recommendation 10.5: Establish a Justice Data and Research Observatory; a specialist, permanent body with expert representation from justice partners to provide a cross-criminal justice multi agency analysis function. Lead partners: Scottish Government, Police Scotland, COPFS, SCTS, SPS, CJS, RMA, and Justice Social Work.
• Recommendation 10.6: Create a Justice Digital Unit within Scottish Government with adequate resourcing to lead and coordinate digital transformation across justice partners and ensure ethical use of technology, including AI. Lead partner: Scottish Government.