New criminal justice textbook out now

Criminal Justice in Scotland, by Jamie Buchan, Sarah Anderson and Katrina Morrison, encompasses many significant developments across Scottish criminal justice and beyond. It combines careful attention to procedural and legal detail with a sociological lens that draws out critical perspectives. From social work to the courts, and from prisons to policing, the book gives an overview of the key institutions of Scottish criminal justice, how they work and some of the key controversies surrounding them.

It also includes a chapter on Scotland’s unique position with respect to transnational policing and crime control, as well as the first textbook chapter dedicated to Scottish financial penalties since 1999.

The book is inspired by the authors’ experience of teaching criminology in Scottish universities, and the difficulties students face in finding the information they need about Scotland’s distinctive criminal justice system.

Most UK undergraduate textbooks confine discussion of Scotland to a single chapter, if they mention it at all. With this in mind, the book includes critical questions, structured further reading and reflections on key contemporary issues such as the debate around corroboration.

But although principally aimed at university students in Scotland, the book is intended to be of wider use to members of Scotland’s legal and criminal justice community and to anyone seeking an up-to-date guide to Scottish criminal justice.