THE SCOTTISH ASSOCIATION FOR

THE STUDY OF OFFENDING 39th ANNUAL CONFERENCE at Peebles Hotel Hydro 14th - 16th November, 2008

Towards a Scottish Penal Policy Consensus

The Scottish Prisons Commission has recommended a number of radical changes to the way we deal with offenders. Can we reach a consensus on who should go to prison, and who should not? What is the appropriate minimum custodial sentence? What is the purpose of prison? Can Community sentences command the confidence of sentencers and the public?

This Conference brings together leading criminal justice players to discuss what should be done, and leading academics to evaluate the options. We have one of the highest rates of imprisonment in the western world. Can we now help forge a modern penal policy befitting a modern caring Scotland?

Conference Chair: David Strang QPM, Chief Constable, Lothian and Borders Police

SASO Office Bearers

Honorary President: Rt Hon Lord Gill Chairman: Professor Alec Spencer Vice Chairman: Dan Gunn Hon Secretary: Margaret Small Conference Organiser: Sally Kuenssberg Hon Treasurer: Alasdair McVitie

For nearly forty years SASO has been organising conferences which bring together people with a wide range of experience within the criminal justice system. Views may differ, but by listening, talking and sharing experiences, a better understanding of our common problems tends to develop. On some issues, consensus has been reached which has, on occasions, been translated into action from which the system has benefited. Lesley Riddoch is a writer, commentator and best known as a broadcaster. After presenting Radio 4’s You and Yours and BBC2’s Midnight Hour she came “home” after devolution to present her own daily radio Lesley Riddoch Show on Radio Scotland for which she won two Sony speech broadcaster awards. She currently fronts Riddoch Questions, a weekly topical phone-in programme on BBC Radio Scotland. She is CEO of Feisty Ltd. her own independent radio, and podcast company. Lesley, a weekly columnist for The Scotsman, was shortlisted in 2006 for the Orwell prize for political writing. She is Chair of the Task Force on Rum and was a member of the Scottish Prisons Commission. She was a founding member of the Isle of Heritage Trust which led to the successful community buyout in 1997. Lesley was founder of the feminist magazine Harpies and Quines, assistant editor of The Scotsman editing The Scotswoman written by its female staff in 1995, and contributing editor of the Sunday Herald in the late 90s. She is founder and editor of Africawoman, an online newspaper written by 100 African women journalists. She published Riddoch; on the in 2007.

Chief Constable David Strang QPM was appointed Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders Police in 2007. Born in and educated at Glasgow Academy and Loretto School, he graduated with a BSc degree in Engineering Science from the University of Durham and a MSc degree in Organisational Behaviour from Birkbeck College, London. David joined the Metropolitan Police in 1980 rising through the ranks to Divisional Commander of Wembley Division. In 1998 he was appointed ACC in Lothian and Borders Police with operational responsibility for all Uniform, Traffic and CID functions within the City of Edinburgh area, and for events such as the Opening of the Scottish Parliament and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party. In 2001 he was appointed Chief Constable of Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary where he demonstrated his strong commitment to community policing and to building relationships at all levels. He chaired the Alcohol and Drug Action Team and the Youth Justice Strategy Group. A past President of ACPOS (2004-05), he is currently Chair of the ACPOS Criminal Justice Business Area and the ACPOS representative on the National Criminal Justice Board. He was a member of the McInnes Committee reviewing summary justice in Scotland, a member of the Sentencing Commission (2003-4), and the Scottish Prisons Commission (2007-08). He was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in Her Majesty’s Golden Jubilee Birthday Honours in 2002.

Kenny MacAskill MSP is Cabinet Secretary for Justice. He has been an MSP since the creation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, first as a regional MSP for the Lothians, and since 2007 representing Edinburgh East and Musselburgh. He qualified in Law at Edinburgh University and is a Solicitor. As Cabinet Secretary for Justice he has a wide ranging portfolio including responsibility for Criminal Law and Procedure, Youth Justice, Criminal Justice Social Work, Police, Prisons and sentencing policy. In 2004 he wrote: Building a Nation – Post Devolution Nationalism in Scotland , and edited Agenda for a New Scotland – Visions of Scotland 2020. He has co-authored with the former First Minister Henry McLeish two books on the Scottish Diaspora: ‘Global Scots – Voices From Afar’ and ‘Wherever the Saltire Flies’ .

Rt Hon Henry McLeish, a former professional footballer, began his political career in Fife in the early 1970’s, with Kirkcaldy District Council and the Fife Regional Council. Elected as an MP to Westminster in 1987 he became a Minister in the Blair Government of 1997. As Minister for Devolution and Home Affairs at the Scottish Office from 1997 to 1999 he was instrumental in shaping Scotland’s first Parliament in almost 300 years. He was also responsible for Law and Order including the Prison Service. Elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 he was Minister for Enterprise and Life Long Learning overseeing higher education, industry, science and technology. He became First Minister of Scotland in 2000, and was made a member of the Privy Council in the same year. He played a key role in the process of devolution, which returned key aspects of Legislative power and Government authority from the UK to Scotland. He retired from public service in 2003. During the last few years he has been visiting professor and lecturer at a number of universities in the US. He has advised the LEED programme of the OECD in Paris, the European foundation for the Improvement of Working and Living Conditions in Dublin and is a Fellow of Edinburgh University. Learning and Education remains a very powerful interest. He is an occasional contributor to newspapers and broadcasting and is a Member of the Broadcasting Commission. He Chaired the Scottish Prisons Commission. Included in his interests are the life and works of Robert Burns, Scottish and European History and the study of famous speeches. On leaving office he publishedScotland First a political autobiography. With Kenny MacAskill, he has published two books: Wherever the Saltire Flies and Global Scots- Voices From Afar. Last year he published a book with Tom Brown titled Scotland The Road Divides.

Dr Nancy Loucks is Chief Executive of Families Outside, a Scottish voluntary organisation that specialises in advocacy and support for families affected by imprisonment. Prior to this she worked as an Independent Criminologist, researching on prison policy and comparative criminology. She received her MPhil and PhD from the Cambridge Institute of Criminology researched into human rights issues in prison, female and young offenders, prison violence and protests, addiction, suicides and self-harm, violence risk assessment and management, the experience of offenders with learning difficulties and learning disabilities, homelessness amongst ex-prisoners, and the maintenance of prisoners’ family ties. Her work on family issues includes research into family participation in prisoner resettlement, studies of the role of Prison Visitors’ Centres and of the work of Family Contact Development Officers, research into young parents in prison, consultations with prisoners’ families, and international reviews of the literature on needs and services for prisoners’ families and on private family visits. She was a Trustee for the Visitors’ Centre at HMP Edinburgh for six years and is currently a member of the National Advisory Body to the Minister of Justice.

Dan Gunn OBE, has been ‘inside’ now for 33 years. He was appointed Governor of the Barlinnie Special Unit in 1988 and since then has been in charge of HM Prisons Greenock, Polmont YOI, Edinburgh and currently Glenochil. He has been Chairman of the charity Six Circle since 1997 and Vice Chair of SASO since 1998, having also been Glasgow Branch Chair from 1991-1996. Dan was born in Edinburgh, but brought up in the North East of Scotland as a “son of the manse”. He is a graduate of Aberdeen and Birmingham Universities, having spent spent two years as a volunteer with VSO in Nigeria in between, and completed his MSc in Criminal Justice at the Glasgow Graduate School of Law in 2002. Dan, who is married with two daughters and lives in Dunblane, received a Butler Trust Travel Award in 1992 and an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in June 2008.

David Wilson is Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University. Prior to taking up an academic appointment he was a Prison Governor, working in a variety of establishments including HMPs Wormwood Scrubs, Grendon and Woodhill – where he designed and managed the two units for the 12 most disruptive prisoners in the country. He was latterly Head of Prison Officer and Operational Training for England and Wales and as such – on behalf of the Council of Europe – was asked to help advise the newly elected government of Albania about reforming their penal system. He is the author of some 12 books, including most recently Hunting Evil: Inside the Ipswich Serial Murders. A noted commentator and broadcaster – described by as a “celebrity academic” – he presented for the BBC four series of Crime Squad and Leave No Trace, for SKY Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer and was most recently seen on Channel 5’s Banged Up.” PROGRAMME

Friday 14th November 17.00 Arrival and Registration 18.00 SASO AGM 19.30 Reception Hosted by Lothian and Borders Community Justice Authority 20.00 Conference Dinner (dress: business/lounge suit) Chair: Rt Hon Lord Gill, Lord Justice Clerk, Honorary President SASO After Dinner Speaker: Lesley Riddoch

Saturday 15th November 08.00 Breakfast 09.15 Conference (dress informal) Chair’s Introduction: David Strang QPM, Chief Constable, Lothian and Borders Police 09.30 Keynote Address: Kenny MacAskill, Cabinet Secretary for Justice 10.20 Coffee 10.50 Keynote Address: Rt Hon Henry McLeish, former First Minister and Chairman Scottish Prison Commission 11.50 Keynote Address: Dr Nancy Loucks – Chief Executive Families Outside & Independent Criminologist: What does research tell us? 12.40 Lunch 14.00 Interactive Workshop: Led by Dan Gunn, Governor Glenochil Prison: How much can prison actually do? 16.00 Tea 16.30 Panel Led Discussion: Community Justice Authorities: A difference in the making? (Can CJAs change anything?) Panel Chair – Professor Sandy Cameron (Chair Parole Board for Scotland) Chief Officer CJA – Chris Hawkes Convener CJA – Cllr. Helen Wright Dr Nick Bland, Scottish Government Criminal Justice Analyst 18.00 SASO Council meeting, with Branch Chairs & Secretaries 19.30 Dinner (dress informal)

Sunday 16th November 08.30 Breakfast 09.30 Conference (dress informal) Panel: Presentations on Community Options Routes out of Prison: Laurie Russell, Chief Executive Wise Group 218 Centre: Marnie Hodge, Development Manager, Turning Point Community Links Centre: Keith Hastie, Senior Manager (Operations), SACRO Lothian & Borders. The Role of Criminal Justice Social Work: Sandy Riddell, Director of Community Services, Moray Council; Chair, ADSW Criminal Justice Standing Committee. 11.00 Coffee 11.15 Keynote Address: Professor David Wilson: Scotland the Brave? – Reflections on the Prisons Commissions of Scotland and England and Wales. 12.15 Concluding Remarks by the Conference Chair David Strang 12.30 Close of Conference Registration Notes

1 Full delegate registration includes access to conference on Saturday and Sunday, overnight accommodation on Friday and Saturday, Friday conference dinner, Saturday refreshments, lunch and dinner, Sunday refreshments.

2 Fri/Sat delegate registration includes access to conference on Saturday only, Friday conference dinner and overnight accommodation, Saturday refreshments and lunch. Delegates are welcome to stay for dinner on Saturday evening but should notify and pay the hotel separately.

3 Sat/Sun delegate registration includes access to conference on Saturday and Sunday, Saturday refreshments, lunch, dinner and overnight accommodation, Sunday refreshments.

4 Day delegate registration includes access to conference from 9.00 am Saturday and Sunday, including Saturday refreshment breaks and lunch and Sunday refreshments. Delegates are welcome to attend the Friday conference dinner at an additional charge of £50. Delegates wishing to stay for dinner on Saturday evening should notify and pay the hotel separately.

5 Student registration includes access to conference from 9.00 am Saturday and Sunday, Saturday refreshments and lunch, and Sunday refreshments.

6 *SASO is grateful to the Scottish Government Justice Directorate for a small grant to enable the provision of subsidised places to delegates from the non-statutory sector and individuals engaged in the field in a voluntary capacity (ie who are not paid for by their employer/organisation).

7 Accompanied persons rates do not include conference attendance.

8 Registration forms may be photocopied. Delegates whose conference fees are met by their employer/organisation may complete a separate form and make separate payment arrangements for an accompanying person.

9 All hotel facilities, including swimming pool, are available to delegates and accompanying persons who are staying overnight.

10 Attendance at the full conference offers 6 hours of continuing professional development under the Law Society of Scotland regulations.

11 The conference is accredited under the Faculty of Advocates Continuing Professional Development Scheme.

12 In the event of cancellation a fee of £25 will be levied to cover administration costs. Cancellations received after 31st October may not qualify for a refund.

13 Completed registration forms should be forwarded to Irene Cameron, SASO Administrator, Association Management Solutions, PO Box 2781, Glasgow, G61 3YL. Tel/Fax: 0141 560 4092 E-mail: [email protected]