Advancing electronic monitoring in Scotland: Understanding the influences of localism and professional ideologies

Abstract

Scotland has one of the highest prison population rates in Western Europe, coinciding with a recent growth in interest in electronic monitoring (EM) as a potential mechanism for diversion and decarceration. Scotland also has a relatively sophisticated suite of community sanctions and measures – from which court-imposed and prison-imposed EM orders have, for 15 years, been largely kept separate, until now. This article analyses the perspectives of Scottish practitioners and decision-makers regarding current stand-alone uses of electronic monitoring, canvassing relevant Scottish jurisdictional findings from within a larger European comparative research project. It reveals localised, institutional and professional differences in the Scottish criminal justice field. Our analysis demonstrates that Scottish practitioners want more integration in principle, but forewarns that the extent of their support may depend on how and by whom this is done in practice.