Getting personal: Developments in policy and practice in Scotland

Abstract

First paragraph: This chapter will discuss the development of ‘evidence’-based social work practice with offenders in Scotland, contrasting this with policy and practice development elsewhere on the UK. Even prior to political devolution, Scotland’s unique legislative framework and organisational structures enabled it to maintain a distinctive approach to penal policy and offered it a degree of protection from the increasingly punitive neo-liberal rhetoric that has shaped the work of the probation services in England and Wales. Recent developments in Scotland - such as the introduction of programme accreditation and the identification of ‘pathfinders’- closely parallel similar developments elsewhere in the UK. Where they appear to differ is in their broader interpretation of the ‘what works’ principles to encompass a greater emphasis upon social inclusion and social justice and their attempts to decentralise ‘ownership’ of effective practice.