Criminal justice right, left and centre in the 2026 Scottish Elections
Published: 30 April 2026
30 April 2026: Following a review of Scottish party manifestos, Emma Jardine and Dr Louise Kennefick highlight that while criminal justice rarely takes centre stage, all major parties acknowledge prison overcrowding and propose responses ranging from expanding capacity and strengthening sentencing to investing in prevention and community justice.
30 April 2026: Following a review of Scottish party manifestos, Emma Jardine and Dr Louise Kennefick highlight that while criminal justice rarely takes centre stage, all major parties acknowledge prison overcrowding and propose responses ranging from expanding capacity and strengthening sentencing to investing in prevention and community justice.
Blog by Emma Jardine (Howard League Scotland) and Dr Louise Kennefick (University of Glasgow)
Criminal justice is rarely front and centre in any manifesto but given cross-party consensus that prison overcrowding can no longer be ignored and that a new approach may be required, let’s take a brief look at some of the proposals.
The SNP reiterates its previous commitments: a new Victims and Witnesses Commissioner and reform of the Victim Notification Scheme; opening two new prisons (HMPs Glasgow and Highland) to increase capacity and “focus on rehabilitation and reduce reoffending”; investing in community sentencing; improving early intervention measures; increasing bail support; and beginning to use GPS technology for home detention. There is a pledge to review legal aid fees, increase traineeship places and reform the legal aid framework and consideration will be given to how improvements be can made to the supervised release of long-term prisoners. Additional funds will be provided to tackle retail crime and homelessness (including upon release from prison), alongside preventative and early intervention initiatives, whilenew legislation will be introduced to tackle misogyny.
New kid on the block, Reform keeps it snappy: abolishing the Scottish Sentencing Council; introducing “high” prison sentences for repeat offenders, while “prioritising the shop-lifting epidemic”; ending early prisoner releases; and increasing prison capacity to “unclog the justice system” and reduce backlogs in the court system.
The Greens root their proposals in “care, healing and prevention”: foregrounding de-escalation, youth work and trauma-informed practice, whilst reversing the under-funding of services which prevent crime such as housing, mental health, addiction services, education and community support. They propose investing in community justice; introducing a ‘Citizens’ Assembly for Justice Reform’ to develop proposals to reform the justice system; funding survivor support services; and reforming the legal aid system to expand access and overhaul its payment structure.
Meanwhile Labour’s proposals are particularly wide-ranging: from digitising services for victims to establishing a Misogyny Reduction Unit; from funding local youth work and crime prevention to reviewing Community Payback Orders to make them more robust. Prison capacity would be “prioritised for convicted criminals” and the sentencing guidelines for under 25s would be scrapped. Mental health, rehabilitation and addiction services in prisons would be prioritised; and there would be “stronger sentences for those who attack people in the course of their work”. Parole Board decisions would be more transparent; bail would be denied for domestic abusers; and harm prevention plans would be introduced for prison-leavers. New Youth Remediation Orders would be established as “tough community sentences” and legal aid traineeships would also be funded, whilst modernising the court system.
Similarly, the Liberal Democrats cover a lot of ground and introduce a few new areas: bringing the age of criminal responsibility in line with UN recommendations; building a more restorative justice system; driving down the use of remand; and increasing purposeful activity and accredited qualifications for all prisoners. Their commitments extend to improving support in the first 48 hours of prison release and analysing data re outcomes; overhauling FAIs; and replacing integral parts of the existing prison estate. They also propose ensuring better mental health support in prisons; tackling youth offending through early intervention and mentorship; investing in “robust community-based” punishments; as well as ensuring that legal aid is securely funded.
Finally, the Conservatives go big and bold with: scrapping the under-25s sentencing guidelines; retaining short-term prison sentences; introducing whole life sentences; and a “three strikes” approach to anti-social behaviour. They would like to see mandatory life sentences for child rapists and tougher sentences for sex offenders and those carrying knives. Shoplifters would be imprisoned, bail would be reduced, and “soft sentences” could be appealed by victims. No prisoners would be allowed to vote; more victims’ rights would be introduced and legal aid provision would be reviewed. The number of prison placeswould be expanded and all sentences would be mandated to be served in full.
… and take a breath. It’s a lot, isn’t it? Familiar, snappy, holistic, wide-ranging, original and hard-hitting. It’s all there. The choice is yours.
Authors
Emma Jardine, Howard League Scotland
Dr Louise Kennefick, Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law, University of Glasgow
First published: 30 April 2026