NCJ Number
199198
Date Published
2002
Length
112 pages
Annotation
This booklet, one of a series on North American and European countries' criminal justice systems, describes Scotland's criminal justice system, including criminal and procedural law, plans for reform, and statistics on crime and criminal justice.
Abstract
A chapter on demographic issues encompasses population size, the minimum age of criminal responsibility, non-native nationalities, the proportion of the population in urban areas, and the unemployment rate. A chapter on criminal law statutes notes that Scotland is unusual in not having a criminal code. The sources of criminal law are common law (case law); authoritative opinions of writers in the 18th and 19th centuries; and acts of Parliament, secondary legislation, and any extra-national legislation by which Scotland is bound. A chapter on procedural law indicates that the principal statute that governs criminal procedures is the Criminal Procedure Act of 1995 as amended, which is in many ways akin to a Code of Criminal Procedure. A chapter briefly outlines the court system and the enforcement of criminal justice mandates. This is followed by a chapter on the fundamental principles of criminal law and procedure. A chapter on the organization of a criminal investigation and criminal procedure includes descriptions of the organization of detection and investigation, the organization of the prosecution agency, the organization of the courts, the bar and legal council, and the position of the victim. Other chapters address sentencing and the system of sanctions, conditional and suspended sentences and probation, and the prison system and the aftercare of released inmates. A chapter on plans for reform mentions two major reviews of criminal procedure designed to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice process. Other reforms are being considered with reference to the prosecution service, dangerous offenders, sex offenses, the age of criminal responsibility, the use of imprisonment, the sentencing power of judges, and the problems of crime victims. The concluding chapter presents statistics on crime and criminal justice in Scotland. A 19-item bibliography and appended questionnaire used to obtain standardized information on the criminal justice systems in this series