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News

Less isolation and more access to family crucial for young people’s wellbeing in custody

21st May 2019

An evidence review on mental health and wellbeing of young people in custody has identified that prisoners should not be isolated or denied access to family or support, and that time outside of their cells should be maximised. The review, which was co-written by Dr Sarah Armstrong, Director of the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research...

SCCJR’s Niall Hamilton-Smith contributes to BBC story on serious organised crime

14th May 2019

BBC Reporting Scotland carried a news item today (Tues 14 May) on the National Crime Agency’s report which warned the UK “can’t afford not to” spend an extra £3bn on fighting organised crime over the next three years. The NCA estimates there are at least 181,000 offenders linked to serious and organised crime in the UK...

Graphic Novel Brings Life to Prison Sentences

30th April 2019

A NEW graphic novel aims to bring life to a Scottish woman’s story of trauma, substance abuse and prison. ‘A Life in Pieces’ is the work of Dr Marguerite Schinkel, a lecturer in Sociology based at the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, University of Glasgow and illustrator Morag Kewell, and follows the story of ‘Alison’ as...

Lectureship in Global/Transnational Criminology at Edinburgh

10th April 2019

The School of Law at the University of Edinburgh is looking to appoint a new Lecturer in Criminology with a specialism in global (including transnational, international or comparative) criminology to join a collegiate and committed group of criminological scholars and students in a world-leading institution. The successful candidate will have excellent teaching and research abilities in the field...

SCCJR Response to Dr John Marshall comments on psychiatric assessment of children

3rd April 2019

On Tuesday 2 April an article appeared in the Scotsman newspaper by Dr John J Marshall, head of forensic clinical psychology services at the State Hospital’s board for Scotland; ‘Some social workers in denial about child psychopaths.’ A follow-up article from The Times included comments from SCCJR Director, Sarah Armstrong, where she...

New research network for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) with an interest in punishment launched

2nd April 2019

A new research network called Perspectives from the Edges of Exclusion and Punishment(PEEP) has launched to support Early Career Researchers (ECRs). The network has been launched by Dr Cara Jardine (Strathclyde) and Dr Louise Brangan (Stirling) as a supportive space where members can forge solidarity between ECRs from across disciplines and...

SCCJR responds to Scottish Government’s Consultation on Transforming Parole in Scotland

27th March 2019

The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) has today responded to the Scottish Government’s Consultation on Transforming Parole in Scotland. The response, produced by Prof Fergus McNeill, Dr Marguerite Schinkel (Glasgow) and Dr Hannah Graham (Stirling) outlines four key points; We advocate further consideration and...

Do disabled people experience discrimination in the criminal justice system?

1st March 2019

A new inquiry led by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into whether people with mental health conditions, cognitive impairments and neuro-diverse conditions, including autism and ADHD, are experiencing discrimination and being put at risk of miscarriages of justice due to a lack of support in the criminal justice system, has been...

Study finds criminal record tick box failing employers and job applicants

4th January 2019

Criminal record declarations often do little to accurately predict the risk of re-offending among potential recruits, new research has found. But asking people to declare convictions upfront may put people off applying for jobs whilst offering employers a false sense of security. The Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research paper, Time for...

Alistair Fraser wins award from Hong Kong Studies Association

13th December 2018

A paper co-authored by Dr Alistair Fraser, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Sociology, University of Glasgow has won an ‘outstanding paper’ award from the Hong Kong Studies Association. The paper is called ‘The Second Life of Kowloon Walled City: Crime, Media and Cultural Memory’ and was presented by Alistair at the Association’s...

SCCJR to join new Scottish Government Victim Taskforce

12th December 2018

SCCJR is set to join a new expert group which will today meet for the first time to improve support, advice and information for victims of crime. Co-chaired by the Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf and Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC, the Victims Taskforce brings together senior decision-makers from justice agencies, the legal profession, academia and...

Offenders view short-term sentences as waste of time

28th November 2018

Unlike long-term prisoners, those with short, repeated sentences rarely view such prison terms as transformative or effective at rehabilitation or deterrence, says a recent study among prisoners themselves into the meaning of serving short-term prison sentences repeatedly and over a long period of time. In a three-year study, SCCJR’s Dr...

Inaugural event: Young Women and Girls in Contemporary Scotland and Beyond

23rd November 2018

A group of University of Glasgow PhD researchers, collectively known as Girlhood Gang, hosted their first event on 5 September 2018. The conference, Young Women and Girls in Contemporary Scotland and Beyond, was held across Glasgow Women’s Library and Olympia Social Research Hub, and opened with a keynote from SCCJR’s Dr Susan Batchelor. Attendees with an interest in contemporary girlhood...

How just is justice? New project to develop ways of measuring justice experiences

22nd November 2018

Sarah Armstrong and Beth Weaver of SCCJR, and Trish McCulloch at Dundee University are leading a project to synthesise understanding of the ways that experiences of justice are understood and measured. The project is running October 2018 through May 2019 and funded by the Scottish Government. During this period they will be looking across the...

Announcing the Scottish Justice Fellows

19th November 2018

Winners of Scottish Justice Fellowships Announced FIVE PhD students have become the first recipients of a Scottish Justice Fellowship which will seem them turn their theses into research summaries and associated materials for policy makers and practitioners. We are delighted to announce the Fellows: Emma Forbes, Kirsty Deacon and Annie Crowley...

Scotland to form part of major European study into institutional responses to domestic abuse

12th November 2018

Researchers from the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) have received funding from EU Horizon 2020 to support research into how institutions, including the police and social work, respond to domestic abuse. SCCJR will work in partnership with Police Scotland to carry out the Scottish strand of the €2.9 million IMPRODOVA project, a three-year study which will see Prof Michele...

Innovative approach to repeat offending shows promise

5th September 2018

An innovative approach to dealing with repeat offenders in Aberdeen Sheriff Court has the potential to benefit other areas, after a new report published today said it “shows promise”. The Aberdeen Problem-Solving Approach (PSA) aims to reduce the use of custodial sentences, and cut reoffending, by addressing the underlying problems linked with...

Football used as scapegoat for domestic violence

7th August 2018

Scapegoating football as a trigger for domestic violence trivialises the issue and risks offering offenders an excuse for their behaviour, according to a UK study. Reports linking a spike in cases with the outcome of Old Firm games and England’s World Cup performance lack reliable data and fail to recognise abuse is a pattern of ongoing...

Call for applications for Scottish Justice Fellowships: PhDs into Policy and Practice

1st August 2018

The Scottish Government, the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) and the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) are offering short-term fellowships to PhD students in Scotland to turn their thesis into research summaries and associated materials for policy makers and practitioners. There is substantial untapped resource...

Donna Yates awarded €1.5m European Research Council Starting Grant

31st July 2018

We are delighted to share the news that Dr Donna Yates has been awarded a large European Research Council Starting Grant to explore the role that objects play within transnational criminal networks. Donna’s 5 year project will also look at the broad question of “can objects cause crimes?” Using methodologies for understanding the...