📕New Book Takes the Temperature of Violence Reduction Units in Scotland & England. Out Now! bit.ly/49NoaYI 🗣️@crmnlgy.bsky.social @timnewburn.bsky.social @susanmcvie.bsky.social @lbilli91.bsky.social Keir Irwin-Rogers & Fern Gillon
Delighted that this article I wrote with @saraheanderson.bsky.social has now been published. We argue that the Western criminal legal system's individualist and dichotomous lens means it is not an effective response to harm. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Trapped in dichotomies and individualism: The Western criminal legal system's failure to capture complexity - Marguerite Schinkel, Sarah Anderson, 2026
This article critiques the Western criminal legal systems’ individualism and reliance on dichotomies. Grounding our analysis in micro-level findings based on in...
journals.sagepub.com
Brilliant new animations explaining the important work @nextchapterscotland.org.uk does and why it is needed 👍🏻
Next Chapter Scotland@nextchapterscotland.org.uk · 9mo ago🎥 Today we’re releasing four new short animations created with @mediaco-op.bsky.social sharing real experiences of isolation, fear, stigma, and hope when navigating the justice system. 💛 Support, not stigma. 👇 The films are in the thread below.
Today, the Scottish 'justice' system' is facing a number of challenges. One that a lot of people aren't aware of is our informal plea-bargaining system. Our new blog draws on the post office scandal to highlight the dangers of this murky world of grubby deals. erasmusresearch.com/the-hidden-c...
The Hidden Crisis in Plea Bargaining — and Why Scotland Should Be Worried - Erasmus Research
The new UCL/University of Exeter report on the Post Office scandal should alarm anyone who cares about justice in the UK. While much has been written about the Post Office’s aggressive prosecution str...
erasmusresearch.com
Wealth of the world’s 3,000 billionaires surged by $6.5tn (£4.8tn) in real terms over the past decade. World's richest 1% gained $33.9tn in real terms. Billionaires pay effective tax rate of 0.3% of their wealth. Ultra-rich are major cause of poverty, pollution, corruption. Need wealth tax now.
Billionaires’ wealth surged $6.5tn over past decade, Oxfam reports
Real-terms gains of $33.9tn for world’s richest 1% ‘enough to end annual global poverty 22 times over’, charity says
theguardian.com
Moving #ketamine from class C to B in 2014 did not prevent rising use. So why would moving it up to class A be a solution? www.itv.com/news/2025-06...
Ketamine ‘overwhelming’ authorities as teens dealing and taking Class B drug | ITV News
ITV News has spoken to frontline services across Cheshire who are calling for more awareness with warnings over the long-term damage of ketamine use. | ITV National News
itv.com
Cracking piece by Ali Fraser @crmnlgy.bsky.social in @glasgowbell.bsky.social over the weekend on his new podcast Young Warriors where he learns about youth violence in Glasgow, and how projects like G20 are helping turn lives around. www.glasgowbell.co.uk/glasgow-yout... #YoungWarriorsPodcast
Glasgow beat its youth violence reputation once. Can it do it again?
Recent increases in violence among the city’s youth are concerning. But the blueprint for change remains
glasgowbell.co.uk
🟡 No one should feel alone after justice system involvement. Our Listening Ear project offers regular friendly phone calls with trained volunteers. Just a space to be heard. 💛 👉 nextchapterscotland.org.uk/contact #SupportNotStigma #ListeningEar
Contact | Next Chapter Scotland
Contact Us | Next Chapter Scotland
nextchapterscotland.org.uk
Major new report out today from SCCJR on the number of deaths in custody. ❗️Prison deaths in Scotland have surged to 64 in the last year. bit.ly/deaths-in-cu... Watch this short video to find out the key stats👇
I made a comic on how we got here & trump/supporters - collecting things he's said that would seem to have been over the line - and how that never seems to be the case is the real problem... on my site with full alt-text and citations here spinweaveandcut.com/draw-the-line/
The OLR violates the basic principles of justice and has no place in Scotland if it wishes to be a fair and progressive country. Want to help? Go to nolr.org/how-you-can-..., where you can find a template letter to your MSP, make a donation or contact us and join us as a member.
How You Can help - OLR Campaign
The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies published a report in 2022 which likened indeterminate sentences to psychological torture.
nolr.org
We should find a way to tackle harm in society instead of focussing all our anxiety on a few individuals while lots of the same goes on outside. Reports do not reduce harm. See e.g. transformharm.org for better ideas.
TransformHarm.org | A Resource Hub For Ending Violence
TransformHarm.org is a resource hub for ending violence. It offers an introduction to transformative justice. You can use what is here, and submit recommendations.
transformharm.org
NOLR Campaign Scotland@nolrscotland.bsky.social · last yr.'I think an awful lot of this is about the containment of anxiety and I think it makes us feel an awful lot better to have spent thousands of pounds on a snazzy report, it makes us feel better' (Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist) #NOLR #JusticeSystem
When you are on an OLR, the system is so rigid and it is so bureaucratic, it’s not like any other long sentence because it has so many extra layers of bureaucracy, so it is easier being a life sentenced prisoner (Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist) #NOLR
'I think one of the biggest flaws for me is that it's under-resourced, and there isn't enough case managers, there is not enough specialist services' (Policy professional, RMA) #JusticeScot #NOLR
The OLR no's increase and we don’t have the capacity to manage them effectively. Then it impacts on the life population … it was just assumed that we dealt with what was given to us, but the practical application of it was not realised and then it got worse and worse and worse (Prison manager)
''You've got some OLRs that have the tiniest punishment part, you're talking months, up to a few years. So, by the time they access any kind of intervention they are already post tariff...” (Forensic psychologist) #NOLR #JustcieReform
'A lot of what the OLR was about was the preparation of the risk assessment. Nobody needs an assessment, they need the outcome of the assessment to be delivered, too often the assessment becomes an end in itself' (Former member, Parole Board for Scotland) #ScotJustice #NOLR
'He's not motivated to progress with anything. He is too reluctant three years in to have any type of relationship, form peers or get a job because he's like, what's the point? I’ve got an OLR' (Community Justice Social Worker) #NOLR #CommunityJustice
Harrowing #NOLR
NOLR Campaign Scotland@nolrscotland.bsky.social · last yr.One prisoner said,“I have to accept I’m never gonnae get out of jail, I’m gonnae die in here”. He got an 18-month sentence and was slapped with an OLR and he’s thinking, “I could die in this place”. (Prison Chaplain) #NOLR #CriminalJusticeReform
Today we are drawing on Nicola Ceesay’s forthcoming PhD thesis to highlight the perspectives of practitioners. #NOLR
Let's do this! Let's make some noise by writing to MSPs and sharing these stories of OLR injustice everywhere we can!
NOLR Campaign Scotland@nolrscotland.bsky.social · last yr.Want to help? Go to nolr.org/how-you-can-..., where you can find a template letter to your MSP, make a donation or contact us and join us as a member. #NOLR
A powerful illustration how OLRs impact people who have endured a lot and are motivated to work on themselves, along with the people who support them 1/5. #NOLR @familiesoutside.bsky.social @markmcsherry.bsky.social @prtuk.bsky.social
NOLR Campaign Scotland@nolrscotland.bsky.social · last yr.‘I’ worries for her nephew ‘J’ who was 21 when he got an OLR. His punishment tariff was 2 ½ years and he remains in prison after 14 years. Through her own career ‘I’ is aware of research showing that young males' brains are not fully developed into maturity until the age of 25 #NOLR
People trying to maintain hope through the prison walls, but failing 1/5 #NOLR
NOLR Campaign Scotland@nolrscotland.bsky.social · last yr.‘L’ remains in prison 13 years after receiving an OLR with a punishment tariff of 14 months aged 22. He is aware of the impact his OLR has on his family. He says ‘‘The OLR is inhumane for the prisoner but also for the family’
Mental health & OLRs - a toxic combination. 1/4 Please repost @fergusmcneill.bsky.social @howardleague-scot.bsky.social @weeneens.bsky.social @prtuk.bsky.social @familiesoutside.bsky.social
NOLR Campaign Scotland@nolrscotland.bsky.social · last yr.‘R’s Mum is struggling to cope since her son’s OLR 16 years ago at the age of 24. His punishment tariff was 4 years and he remains in prison. She has significant mental health issues which have worsened over the years by having to cope with her son’s indeterminate sentence. #NOLR
OLRs are a Kafkaesque punishment and a bureaucratic nightmare #NOLR - a thread 1/5
NOLR Campaign Scotland@nolrscotland.bsky.social · last yr.‘P’ was sentenced to an OLR with an 18 month punishment tariff 18 years ago, yet remains in prison. His elderly parents have challenged the OLR for years and have written numerous letters to MSP’s. The majority don’t care. Their own MSP feels he has done all he can to help.