Policy Officer, Community Justice Glasgow
Bail Support continues to be a priority for our partnership and work continues on our Bail Support Improvement Plan. In the 2021-22 Article ‘Updating Bail Supervision & Electronic Monitoring’ our colleague Stephen McVey from the Glasgow Health & Social Care Partnership updated you on the work around the Bail Support team based at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Scotland has one of the highest imprisonment rates in Western Europe (138 per 100,000 population in April 2023), and remand remains at a historic high. As at 1/04/23:
- 28% of the prison population was on remand, with the majority still awaiting trial, so not yet found guilty. Of that 28%:
- 24% were awaiting trial and
- 4% had been convicted, awaiting sentence.
The median continuous time spent on remand over 2022-23 was 72 days.
Our partnership, with wider justice partners prioritised our Bail Support Improvement Plan and these priorities are:
- Housing
- Mentoring
- Victims
- Mental health
- Judicial and Public confidence
- Trauma informed practice
- Performance
- Electronic monitoring
Over the year, we have made progress with some of these priorities, with some examples listed below:
- The Prison Homelessness Casework Team co-located with the Justice Social Work Court Team, to better able the court team to access information to inform their reports. This allows up to date information on housing status and accommodation to be included in court reports, supporting bail decisions.
- The Court Social Work Team are fully embedded in Glasgow Sheriff Court, and manage a high number of Bail Supervision cases, with support for the whole person, not just in relation to offending, including addiction, housing, debt, employment/training and educational opportunities.
- Our partnership has made working links with the Homelessness Management Team, ensuring Community Justice priorities are reflected in the city’s Housing and Homelessness Strategies.
- Work is ongoing with the Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) National Marking Team to ensure that the Procurator Fiscals who are marking cases before they go to court are aware of all of the options in Glasgow to support bail.
- A Bail Mentoring Service had been temporarily funded, and while this funding will end, there is work being undertaken to find alternative community supports for people on bail.
- The new Community Justice Performance Framework includes a priority action on Bail.
- The recommendations from the NHS Grater Glasgow & Clyde Trauma Training Needs Assessment continues to be implemented across our partners, including Homelessness and Housing services and Alcohol and Drugs Recovery Services.
