Social work and criminal justice in Scotland: developments in policy and practice

Citation

McIvor G (1994) Social work and criminal justice in Scotland: developments in policy and practice. British Journal of Social Work, 24 (4), pp. 429-448. http://bjsw.oxfordjournals.org/content/24/4/429.abstract

Abstract
In the last five years major changes have occurred in the provision of social work services to the Scottish criminal justice system. The present article charts recent developments in statutory and voluntary community-based social work services to offenders, locating them in the context of contemporary penal policy. The contribution of social work at various points in the criminal justice process is discussed with particular reference to the introduction of national standards and full central funding of statutory social work services. The new funding arrangements have, it is suggested, provided an impetus to the development of statutory services but at the expense both of services not currently subject to the 100 per cent funding mechanism and of increased central government control. The article concludes by outlining the challenges to be faced by social work departments over the next few years, including an ever-widening remit and the uncertainties surrounding local government re-organization.

Journal
British Journal of Social Work: Volume 24, Issue 4