Scottish Prisons Assessment and Review of Outcomes for Women (SPAROW): full report

Footnotes

1 Of particular relevance to the sentencing of women, Scotland introduced a statutory presumption against short-term sentences through the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010. This presumption was extended from three months or less to twelve months or less by the Presumption Against Short Periods of Imprisonment (Scotland) Order 2019.

2 There are no longer any under 18s in Scottish Young Offender Institutes; all have now been moved to suitable settings such as secure care. As part of wider work to embed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and to Keep the Promise, the 2024 Children (Care and Justice) (Scotland) Act’s provisions aim to improve children’s experiences of the care and justice systems, whether victims, witnesses or children who have caused harm.

3 Women are no longer accommodated in HMP Edinburgh

4 Following the end of fieldwork, we were informed by SPS that provision had been made for a catering officer to attend the CCUs, in the acknowledgement that women were upset about the lack of someone to provide information about food preparation and healthy eating.