Criminal Justice in Scotland

The existence of the separate criminal jurisdiction in Scotland is ignored by most criminological texts purporting to consider crime and criminal justice in 'Britain' or the 'UK'. This book offers a critically-informed analysis and understanding of crime and criminal justice in contemporary Scotland. It considers key areas of criminal justice policy making in Scotland; in particular the extent to which criminal justice in Scotland is increasingly divergent from other UK jurisdictions as well as pressures that may lead to convergences in particular areas, for instance, in relation to trends in youth justice and penal policy.

The book considers the extent to which Scottish crime and criminal justice is being affected both by devolution as well as the wider pressures resulting from globalization, Europeanisation and new patterns of migration.

While the book has a Scottish focus, it also offers new ways of thinking about criminal justice – relating these issues to wider social divisions and inequalities in contemporary Scottish and UK society. It extends the ‘gaze’ and analysis of criminology by exploring issues such as environmental crime, urban disorder and the new urbanism as well as crimes of the rich and powerful and corporate crime, giving it a relevance and resonance far beyond Scotland.

Criminal Justice in Scotland will be an essential text for students in Scotland taking courses in criminology, sociology, social policy, social sciences, law and police sciences, as well as criminal justice practitioners and policy makers in Scotland. It will also be an essential source for students of comparative criminology elsewhere and academics wishing to take Scotland into account in thinking about criminal justice in the UK.