Illustration by Kimberly Carpenter

Notebook: Scotland’s police and justice news

  • Suicide support scheme scrapped

  • More proof of bodycams’ positive impact

  • New firework ban zones considered

By 1919 staff

Notebook: Scotland’s police and justice news

  • Suicide support scheme scrapped

  • More proof of bodycams’ positive impact

  • New firework ban zones considered

Illustration by Kimberly Carpenter

Suicide support scheme scrapped

A flagship scheme to support people affected by the suicide of a loved one has been scrapped due to funding problems.

The Suicide Bereavement Support Pilot was launched in 2021 and extended three years later, having helped hundreds of people across Scotland.

Around a quarter of referrals to the scheme came direct from police officers supporting devastated families.

However, a recent update to Police Scotland confirmed the initiative will not be rolled out as hoped.

The report states: “The Suicide Bereavement Support Pilot is not being rolled out as a national resource by the Scottish Government due to financial constraints.

“This decision is outwith the control of Police Scotland.”

Bodycams reap rewards on the ground

The impact of body-worn video has been highlighted after officers were able to link a victim’s description to footage gathered earlier that day.

Police attended a robbery at a petrol station in Ayrshire, and when a staff member who had been attacked described the culprit, it became clear he had been spoken to earlier in the day.

After viewing the footage, it emerged the suspect was wearing the same clothing, meaning he could be identified and apprehended.

That evidence then proved sufficient for prosecutors to pursue the case against him.

More than 13,000 officers are now trained in using body-worn video cameras after a full rollout was completed last year.

Capital considers 10 new firework control zones

Ten new areas of Edinburgh are being considered for firework bans ahead of bonfire season later this year.

The capital’s council received local feedback on the new zones, which will be in addition to the four places where Firework Control Zones are already confirmed.

Although flashpoints were markedly reduced in 2025, Edinburgh has repeatedly found itself embroiled in widespread firework disorder.

Among the new communities being touted for bans are Corstorphine, Gracemount, Liberton and Wester Hailes.

Anyone breaching the orders could face hefty fines or even custodial sentences.

New drug prompts police alert at consumption centre

A surge in overdoses in Glasgow prompted forensics teams to test drug-taking equipment at the city’s controversial consumption facility.

Staff became concerned about a rise in cases and contacted the Thistle centre to examine its paraphernalia.

“The results of testing identified a new drug which has not been identified previously in Scotland but has raised concern in England and Wales,” a report into the matter concluded.

“The complex and rapidly evolving drugs market requires forensics services to develop further intelligence support for policing, and also demonstrates how we can further support public health initiatives in Scotland now and in the future.”

Police use pension contributions to fill NI black hole

Police Scotland was forced to reduce its employer pension contributions by more than £10 million to fund increased National Insurance costs, it has been confirmed.

The move came as the organisation struggled to find ways of filling the financial gap left by the controversial UK Government decision to raise NI contributions.

The Scottish Government provided Police Scotland with tens of millions to cover 60 per cent of the hike, after the UK Government provided the devolved administration with an increased settlement, but the force was left to find its own ways to fund the rest.

A report stated: “The remaining National Insurance costs were funded in 2025/26 through reduced employer pension contributions.”

Road traffic offence uncovered man’s multitude of crimes

A serial offender who evaded justice for 15 years was snared after a chance encounter with police in Dumfries and Galloway.

The man – who was suspected of supplying drugs – had been stopped by road traffic officers in the area, who obtained his legitimate driving licence.

That sparked a series of results comprising various government agencies, Interpol and tax authorities, leading to a search warrant being issued for his address.

When officers attended they found £10,000 in cash, replica guns, blank foreign passports and numerous fraudulent identity documents.

Further investigations found he had an outstanding warrant for child sex offences committed in 2010.

The case study was highlighted by Chief Constable Jo Farrell in a recent report about specialist proceeds of crime units.

The man has since been sentenced to four years in jail.

Scottish forensics team to support new Lockerbie US probe

A Scottish forensics team is preparing for trips to the US to assist in the ongoing investigation into the Lockerbie bombing.

A new suspect – Abu Agila Mas’ud Kheir Al-Marimi – is set to face trial in the coming months for the 1988 atrocity which killed 270 people.

As part of the case, it is expected professionals from Scotland will travel to provide expert support.

Forensics bosses said: “Some forensic staff may be required to travel to the US to provide specialised expert support and provide evidence in the upcoming trial.”

Cash made available to support assaulted cops

Organisations providing support to police officers who have been assaulted are being urged to apply for a new fund.

The Scottish Government has opened the Restitution Fund, with groups who help injured officers able to apply for a share of £15,000.

The cash can be used to provide any treatment or service intended to boost physical or mental recovery.

The money is generated from criminals who have been convicted of assaulting officers and who have been forced to pay into a fund as part of their punishment.

The deadline for applications is September 11, with more information available here.

Bar-L of a story

A university research project is seeking stories, experiences and accounts from people with an affinity to Barlinnie prison.

Ahead of the infamous jail’s closure in 2028, the academics from a number of Scottish universities want to preserve experiences and the institution’s legacy.

They are appealing for anyone from staff members and police officers to former inmates and their families to take part.

To get involved, email rachelle.cobain@glasgow.ac.uk.

Prisoners return to jail after release policy​

More than one in ten prisoners freed under the first phase of Scotland’s emergency early release scheme are back behind bars, new figures show.

A total of 286 prisoners were released in November and December last year after the measures were approved to tackle overcrowding in prisons.

New analysis published by the Scottish Prison Service reveals that 34 of those released in the first wave of the early release scheme, 12 per cent of the total, have since returned to prison.

Of that group, 13 people were returned to custody within ten days of their release. The shortest amount of time spent in the community was just two days.

Scottish businesses should hire people like me, says ex-offender

A former prisoner turned entrepreneur has said Scottish businesses should consider hiring people with criminal records.

Jacob Hill, founder of Offploy, said integrating offenders into the workplace would reduce reoffending and broaden the recruitment talent pool.

Speaking to the Let’s Talk Social Value podcast, he said: “Employing people with convictions is something every business should be looking to do, and there are many benefits for that business and for society.”

Host Sarah Stone added: “This is something Scottish businesses should consider – it all ties into the importance of how to build social value.”

Relief after the chaos

By Magnus Gardham 
Former Scotland Office special adviser

Got there in the end. That, at least, was the snap verdict of the Chancellor’s backbench colleagues, who waved their order papers wildly at the end of her 65-minute budget speech.

They have endured a miserable few weeks as downbeat briefings, followed by clumsy un-briefings, sparked fears of a political disaster for Labour and dented confidence in the government.

And the drama didn’t end on budget day, with claims that Rachel Reeves misled the public followed by this month’s resignation of the chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR).

“The most chaotic lead up to a budget in living memory,” taunted Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch in the Commons as she highlighted the pre-budget blunder that led to this resignation – the early publication of the OBR assessment.

When the spending plans were finally announced – as we knew to expect – Reeves avoided the poisonous step of increasing the basic rate of income tax in clear breach of Labour’s manifesto.

Instead, she revealed a plethora of smaller taxes that Labour can argue will hit those who can afford to pay more. And, of course, a freezing of thresholds until 2031 which will bring more people into tax and into higher rates.

Those rates do not apply in Scotland where income tax thresholds are devolved to Holyrood.

“The Chancellor handed Scottish Labour another get-out-of-jail card”

But the Chancellor’s move goes a long way to explaining the genuinely positive reaction from Labour MSPs. They had faced the unhappy prospect of explaining complex intergovernmental fiscal rules – and why they would cost the Scottish Government £1 billion – had Reeves raised the basic rate by 2p.

With the Holyrood election looming ever larger, the Chancellor handed Scottish Labour another get-out-of-jail card.

The two-child benefit cap was popular with the public, but appalled Labour.

By axeing it, in what was easily the most heartfelt section of her speech, Reeves delighted her own side but also removed a potentially devastating dividing line between Labour and the SNP.

SNP ministers were committed to mitigating the impact of the cap, starting just weeks before the election, and were preparing to hammer Labour – sorry, make that “callous Labour” – for the £155 million it would have cost them next year.

The Scottish Government will now save that cash and have an extra £820 million to spend, to the end of the spending review period in 2028, through the Barnett formula.

Reeves tried to credit Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar with the windfall. “Because he asked us to,” she told the Commons.

That is not really how the Barnett formula works and the sum, reflecting UK spending, was a lot less than last year’s bumper £3.4 billion transfer.

It will not stop SNP claims of austerity in the run up to next May but then, nothing would.

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