Videos

How do courts in Scotland make sentencing decisions?

Sentencing in Scotland: A guide for victims of crime

Sentencing in Scotland: A guide for offenders and their families

Hear from various contributors - including an offender, victim and sheriff - on community sentencing in Scotland and what it involves.

Sentencing young people guideline

Scottish Sentencing Research Symposium November 2023

Opening remarks: Lord Matthews, Senator of the College of Justice and Council member, chairs an introductory session on the Council's research work, with presentations from Dr Hannah Graham, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Stirling and Council member, and Dr Nicole Vidal, the Council’s Principal Research Officer.

Sentencing and young people: Dr Jay Gormley, researcher at the University of Glasgow and adviser to the Sentencing Academy chairs a panel featuring Dr Nina Vaswani, senior research fellow at the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice, and Prof Kathryn Hollingsworth, Professor of Law at Newcastle University.

Sentencing and mental health: Lord Colbeck, Senator of the College of Justice and Council member, chairs a session on sentencing and mental health with presentations from Professor Lindsay Thomson, Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, and Dr Ailbhe O’Loughlin, senior lecturer in law at the University of York.

 

Community sentencing and rehabilitation: Summary Sheriff Amel Elfallah, Council member, chairs a session on community sentencing and rehabilitation with presentations from Professor Cyrus Tata, Professor of Law and Criminal Justice at Strathclyde University, and Professor Fergus McNeill, Professor of Criminology and Social Work at the University of Glasgow.

 

Closing remarks:  Closing remarks by Gavin Dingwall, Head of Policy and Communications at the Sentencing Academy and Lord Matthews.

This short film features people who have knowledge of the prison system from a variety of perspectives, and opens with a powerful story from victims expert and Council member, Lynn Burns, talking about her experience following the murder of her son Sam.

This video, along with other materials on this site, is intended to assist people’s understanding of prison sentencing.

The video highlights the importance of access to rehabilitative programmes in prison. The Scottish Sentencing Council fully shares and supports this view and notes the need to adequately resource these programmes to support efforts to reduce reoffending.

This short video explains the difference between the offences of Causing Death by Careless Driving and Causing Death by Dangerous Driving. The two videos below explain the sentences resulting from each.  

This video explains the types of sentences courts impose for causing death by careless driving offences. 

This video explains the types of sentences court impose for causing death by dangerous driving offences.