Abstract
The 2014 Scottish independence referendum felt like a seismic moment for territorial politics in the United Kingdom. Although defeat for the ‘Yes’ campaign would leave the ‘Union’ (at least temporarily) in-tact, for those at the periphery of the UK state, there remained a palpable sense of hope and expectation that the referendum would transform the place of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales within political, academic and policy debates in the United Kingdom. This hope was, of course, to be short-lived. The political reverberations of the European Union (EU) referendum and the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU soon thwarted the advances made in constitutional literacy as a result of the 2014 referendum campaign.
For criminologists and socio-legal scholars who have long rallied against the hegemony of anglocentric debates on criminal justice in the United Kingdom (see England and Wales), Britain (see England and Wales) or England and Wales (see England), the challenges associated with academic debates that routinely overlook the United Kingdom’s territorial differences are depressingly familiar. Indeed, it is this quest for a more constitutionally accurate and informed understanding of criminal justice that acts as the starting point for Jamie Buchan, Sarah Anderson and Katrina Morrison’s tour de force, Criminal Justice in Scotland. In this accessible and engaging book, the authors go to extraordinary lengths to render Scotland’s distinct criminal justice policies, practices and procedures visible. One of the most impressive aspects of the book is its meticulous attention to detail, with few stones left unturned throughout each of its 12 chapters.
In the opening section, the reader is cordially invited to get familiar with the contours of Scottish devolution, politics and society. It is here that the issue of Scotland’s disputed ‘distinctive’ approach to criminal justice is first previewed. This point of contention is something which acts as a useful and interesting recurring thread throughout each of the book’s remaining arguments. What follows are a series of chapters that neatly guide the reader through the arc of the criminal justice process in Scotland. Chapter 2 explores the issue of community safety and crime prevention and is followed by an examination of policing in Scotland (Chapter 3), including the roles played by the dense thicket of organisations involved in its delivery. Chapter 4 takes a deep dive into the court system in Scotland and some of its most distinct features.
Much needed attention is drawn to the use of financial penalties in Chapter 5, while Chapter 6 delves into the topic of community justice and the many initiatives, developments and reform agendas that shape this policy area at a local and national level. With its focus on electronic monitoring, Chapter 7 arguably provides the clearest glimpse into the authors’ determined quest for detail. While the use of monitoring technology is by no means an obscure or hidden issue among academic debates on criminal justice, the extent of the analysis offered here is testament to the book’s mission to render all aspects of the Scottish system visible to those unfamiliar with its inner workings.
Chapters 8 and 9 are by far the most decisive in the tug of war over Scotland’s reputed distinctiveness. The sobering analysis of prisons and imprisonment offered in Chapter 8 is enough to leave the reader (at least temporarily) convinced that theories of Scottish progressivism have been overplayed. The reader’s faith in the exceptionalism theory, however, is almost immediately (if only partially) restored by the analysis of Scottish youth justice policy offered in Chapter 9. Whether by design or coincidence, the ordering of these chapters underlines the tension that is at the heart of the debate about Scotland’s contested distinctiveness. In the two remaining substantive chapters, the authors provide a thought-provoking analysis of life after punishment in Scotland (Chapter 10), before challenging the reader to think beyond Scotland’s borders in a discussion of crime control in a transnational context (Chapter 11). The book’s concluding chapter pauses to reflect on the current state of Scottish criminal justice and considers its possible future. As to the recurring question of Scotland’s distinctiveness, the verdict reached may be (rather fittingly) read as ‘not proven’.
Overall, the book offers a timely and important contribution to academic debates on criminal justice in Scotland. Although others have gone before them (Croall et al., 2010, 2016; Duff and Hutton, 1999), the herculean efforts made by the authors to delve further and deeper into all areas of the Scottish criminal justice system make their contribution highly original. The arguments throughout are balanced, well-written, engaging and will greatly appeal to criminologists, socio-legal scholars, sociologists and political scientists. While largely aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students, the book stands as one big open invitation to explore the Scottish system further. At times, it feels as though a PhD idea or topic jumps out at the reader on every page. This makes it essential reading for anyone wishing to pursue serious research in this area in future.
After more than a quarter of a century since devolved institutions were created in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the book stands a powerful reminder of the need for a more accurate, informed, and constitutionally literate understanding of criminal justice practices in all areas of the United Kingdom. There is little doubt that Scottish criminology and academics working in Scotland have led (and continue to lead) the charge in promoting academic and intellectual discussions in this area. In this important book, Buchan, Anderson and Morrison provide their own formidable contribution.