National strategy for community justice: delivery plan update 2 – March 2024

Strategic context

This update covers a period when Scotland’s prison population sits at a consistently high level, necessitating both a short term response – which primarily sits outwith this plan – and actions in the medium to longer term, many of which are captured here. As well as the obvious challenges the high prison population presents to the Scottish Prison Service, it is recognised that this can also place new and additional pressures on other partners, the wider justice system, and the delivery of community justice services.

Community justice services that are person-centred and trauma informed require a collaborative, cross-organisational approach to planning and delivery and it is in this vein that the delivery plan seeks to drive improvement. While the deliverables in the plan primarily have a national focus, they may also impact services at a local level. Where this is the case, partners responsible for their delivery need to ensure that necessary information is communicated to relevant stakeholders and appropriate support is provided.