Sentencing
The Council has commissioned a series of videos on sentencing. These cover:
- the steps judges going through when deciding a sentence.
- community sentencing
- prison sentences
The sentencing process
This video explains the steps Scottish judges follow when deciding a sentence. It uses actors to create a fictitious but realistic court case, involving an assault, to help better explain the factors taken into account by Scottish courts.
Hear from people with knowledge of the justice system including a sheriff, a prosecutor, a defence solicitor, a social work professor, and a victims’ expert from Victim Support Scotland. The footage is accompanied by an interactive web page that invites people to select the sentence they would give the fictitious offender, before revealing what sentences a practising sheriff would have given in the case.
Community sentences
This video asks people with knowledge of the Scottish justice system, their views on community sentencing. Hear from: a sheriff who imposes such sentences; a journalist who has reported on court cases; an expert on victims’ issues; an offender who has served a community sentence; and a professor of criminology and social work. Learn more about sentencing.
Prison sentences
This video captures the views of people who have knowledge of the Scottish prison system, including a victim expert talking about her experience following the murder of her son. Hear from a senior Scottish Prison Service manager, an academic in criminology, and a woman serving a prison sentence. The video also features Lord Beckett speaking at a time when he was serving as a High Court judge. Since the production of the video, Lord Beckett has been appointed Lord Justice Clerk and, by virtue of the office, is now Chair of the Scottish Sentencing Council. Learn more about sentencing.