I have spent the last year as a Commissioner on the independent Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission, tasked with recommending how to reduce high numbers in our prisons and change Scottish Justice for the better. Our Commission’s final report, Justice That Works, was published on 6th February 2026. This guest blog post focuses on what we learned from people who have been through the Justice system.
The Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission heard from a variety of people the length and breadth of Scotland, through meetings, visits, and roundtables, as well as a Call for Evidence. As part of this, we held a series of lived experience workshops with people who have been through court, prison, or community sentences. Most workshops were facilitated in person, and two were online. Workshop participants were given a shop voucher in recognition of giving their time. Our Commission report also features insights from the Prisoner Expert Group, Scottish Prisoner Advocacy and Research Collective (SPARC), Next Chapter, Sacro, Scottish Recovery Consortium, Aid & Abet and others, demonstrating the distinctive, valuable input of the third sector and community groups in featuring firsthand accounts to inform our work.
Workshop participants and facilitators were good at holding space for plurality and different views. Those who came were a variety of ages and backgrounds; some were in the Justice system for the first time and some had served many sentences over many years. Their stories and truth-telling were not only about the system and how it has impacted them; there were some sombre, weighty moments where people wanted to acknowledge how they regretted the impact of what they’d done on victims and families. A few immediate family members affected by imprisonment and community justice also shared compelling observations.
Key messages about sentencing and criminal justice came through foghorn loud and clear. A few have been selected to discuss here, but this is by no means a comprehensive overview.
In criminal justice, there can be a tendency for attention to go to bricks and mortar, to material conditions and concrete (sometimes literally) issues. Emphasis can be given to numbers and measurable metrics by clock time: getting to appointments and court on time, adhering to curfews, doing unpaid work hours, sentence length, or time out of cells according to bare minimums. Yet we have heard how the less publicly visible or less tangible aspects of the Justice system can prove to be very consequential.
In the lived experience workshops, people wanted to talk about the social dynamics of the system, about information and communication, the quality of relationships and decision-making, and the impact on lives and outcomes. People want better access to clear information, particularly for bail and remand, in courts and community justice. In the Justice system, things can still be said about you, without you. Words matter. Procedural justice matters. Knowing what is going on and knowing ‘why?’ matters. Uncertainty isn’t known to lead to good outcomes.
A persistent theme raised in workshops is a lack of consistency in judicial decision-making and sentencing. Questions were raised about perceived inconsistencies in how different Sheriffs use their discretion to deal with similar cases. Sentencing was described by some as a “lottery” or a “roulette wheel”, with solicitors telling them it depends on which Sheriff they get on the day. People who raised this issue want procedural fairness and improved sentencing guidance and policy to promote more consistency and to help sentencing make more sense.
In thinking about what worked for them, people shared stories of the process of remarkably changing their lives, of “doing the work”, and of the real difference that having a good worker can make in supporting that. We heard numerous positive experiences and examples that were helpful. These included holistic uses of structured deferred sentences (SDS) and problem-solving approaches like their local Alcohol Court, Drug Court, or Youth Court. A few were singing the praises of a Justice social worker who had paid attention to their desire for employability skills and having something meaningful to do with their time, with an example of helping get them into a café and cooking initiative for people with convictions. We heard stories of enjoying being part of a bike repair workshop or a recovery café in prison; or how they’d really changed through wilderness experiences and personal development work with the Venture Trust as part of their community sentence. A common thread was wanting to feel heard and understood and wanting their sentence to involve meaningful activities and supports for change.
Numbers capture attention in places of power and the public realm. In budget line items. In waiting times. In people’s sense of fairness or disappointment that the number wasn’t bigger or for longer in a given case decided by the courts. Indeed, in part, our Commission was formed due to Scotland’s high prison population numbers – and it is high time for those numbers to change. But our final report speaks to much more than that. We have paid attention to words and deeds, to person-centred approaches and how practices and processes are experienced. We have made recommendations on improving information, transparency and communication, including in Chapter 5 in relation to judicial communication. We’ve also made recommendations to improve the quality and rehabilitative content of sentences, especially in Chapters 6 and 7, to make them meaningful and make good options more consistently available across Scotland.
Prison casts a long shadow on lives after release. It can impact the most basic essentials of having something to eat, somewhere to sleep, and enough to get by.
Coming out of prison, some told us about “learning to hunt for yellow stickers” in shops. “They call me ‘yellow sticker man’ now,” one said of his daily quest to find affordable fresh food, while on a waiting list for housing and in a hostel where others are struggling with addictions.
In some cases, the prisons emergency meets the housing emergency meets the cost-of-living emergency meets the risk of drugs death emergency. Another man told us how there’s nowhere to take food when you are homeless post-release, nowhere to heat and eat “in the crisp packet tents the Council give you when they’re no gonnae give you a roof.” Comments like this hit differently in a nation that can afford to build a billion pound prison. How many homes or community projects could that buy?
All eyes are on those being released from prison, that they don’t reoffend and return, as staples of news headlines and Holyrood politician’s questions. That’s understandable as to why. Perhaps not enough eyes or hearts and minds are on where they might end up, how they’re getting on? Whether there are enough resources and supports to leave both crime and criminal justice behind? Whether they’ve got access to a community of peers who have ‘been there, done that’ with know-how to support them in reintegration and recovery? The funding crisis for local authorities and charities compounds what is on offer to people caught in these intersecting emergencies.
The Commission’s report has a few chapters which speak to these issues. It is deliberate that we start with prevention. We recognise that these issues have been carefully catalogued, in the likes of the Hard Edges report and many a research study, and the thinking and recommendations on prevention have already been offered by the Christie Commission, among others. Our Commission is unwavering in its message that prevention is a priority – Scotland just needs to get on and do it. The other chapter of our report that makes several recommendations on release and community reintegration is Chapter 8, with voices of lived experience quoted to highlight what the issues are and why change is needed. Having heard from a few groups about issues with housing, one of our recommendations [8.5] is to develop policy on transitional accommodation with individualised support for those leaving prison.
The Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission’s final report is called ‘Justice That Works.’ One participant ably articulated the need for systemic change and what that could look like:
“If the Justice system really worked for people, it would focus on rehabilitation, support, and fairness, rather than just punishment. And make sure that people are supported and not just set up to fail, the system should build in proper throughcare from the start. I mean, every person on bail, remand, community sentence, or custody should have a clear support plan that covers housing, mental health, employment, and family support. And what should happen more often is getting access to education, skills training, and counselling. These help people build confidence, stay busy in positive ways, and prepare for life outside […] People don’t succeed or fail in isolation, the system itself plays a huge role. Real change will only happen if the Justice system focuses on rehabilitation and dignity and giving people the tools to build a different future.”
– Lived Experience Participant.
Hear, hear. Our report is built on a deep and wide understanding of rehabilitation and reintegration – which includes but very much extends well beyond a narrow individualistic notion of psychological rehabilitation that ‘the system’ has traditionally valued as a marker of progress. It is about lives, livelihoods, and life chances, as well. It is about futures and not just pasts nor perpetual discussion of the same issues over and over in the present. In hearing the above quote, I’d add that success or failure to realise the ambition of decarceration (reducing our prison population) won’t happen in isolation, either. I strongly hope that our Commission’s recommendations contribute towards real change, so we can build a different future, collectively.
Dr Hannah Graham is a Commissioner in the independent Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission and she works as a criminologist at the University of Stirling.
Acknowledgement: Many thanks to the Commission Secretariat and colleagues in Sacro, Next Chapter and Scottish Recovery Consortium for their part in making these workshops happen.
