Voices in Justice: Parole Reform in Scotland: Consultation Analysis

Note on terminology and abbreviations

Throughout this report the Parole Board for Scotland is referred to as ‘the Parole Board’ or, simply, ‘the Board’.

The ‘Parole Rules’ refer to the Parole Board (Scotland) Rules 2022.

The term ‘individual with experience of custody’ refers to individuals who have spent time in prison.

The consultation document and consultation questions refer to an individual who has been subjected to a criminal offence as a ‘victim or survivor’ or ‘victim / survivor’. While it is recognised that many victims describe themselves as ‘survivors’, for the sake of brevity, this report uses the term ‘victims’ throughout, which is the term used in legislation.

In the report, ‘respondents of all types’ is used as a shorthand phrase to mean (i) organisations, (ii) individuals with no experience of custody, and (iii) individuals with experience of custody.

The following abbreviations are used at different points in this report:

OLR: Order for Lifelong Restriction – This is a sentence available only to the High Courts in Scotland for the future management and treatment of, serious sexual and violent offenders who may present a continuing danger to the public. An individual sentenced to an OLR will be subject to risk management for the rest of their life.

VNS: Victim Notification Scheme – This scheme, which is partly managed and administered by the Scottish Prison Service, provides the statutory basis on which victims can receive certain information about an offender. It is an opt-in scheme – that is, victims must choose to register, and the type of information they are entitled to receive depends on the length of sentence being served by the offender.