Criminal justice in post-devolutionary Scotland

Abstract

This article reviews recent major developments in key areas in criminal justice policy in Scotland, including the renowned Children's Hearings System, the role of criminal justice social work, the use of imprisonment and the implementation of antisocial behaviour legislation. It explores the extent to which the welfarist approach that characterized Scottish criminal justice pre-devolution has been challenged by the politicization of criminal justice issues and increasing levels of popular punitivism more familiar in England and Wales under the New Labour government. It explores some of the reasons why there has been greater convergence with policy south of the border rather than the divergence which might have been expected.