Scottish Prisons Commission
The Scottish Prisons Commission was a commission established by the Scottish Government in 2007 to "analyse the impact for courts, prisons and community justice services of early release provisions contained in the Custodial [Sentences and Weapons (Scotland) Act 2007]".
Terms of reference
The terms of reference were:- Consider how imprisonment is currently used in Scotland and how that use fits with the Government’s wider strategic objectives.
- Raise the public profile of this issue, providing better information to allow a deeper understanding of the options, outcomes and costs.
- Assess the impact for courts, prisons and community justice services of early release provisions of the Custodial Sentences and Weapons Act 2007.
Members
The members were:- The Rt. Hon. Henry McLeish – former First Minister of Scotland, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Minister for Devolution and Home Affairs
- Dr Karin Dotter-Schiller – Acting Director-General, Prison Service in the Federal Ministry of Justice in Vienna, Austria; founder member, International Corrections and Prisons Association
- Sheriff Alistair Duff – Dundee; Chair, Dundee branch of the Scottish Association for the Study of Offending
- Geraldine Gammell – Director, The Prince's Trust in Scotland
- Richard Jeffrey – President, Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce; Chair, Edinburgh Tourism Action Group
- Lesley Riddoch – broadcaster and journalist
- Chief Constable David Strang – Lothian and Borders Police