A prison officer at a young offenders' institution who was caught having secret "trysts" in a cleaning cupboard with a 20-year-old inmate has been spared jail.Stacey Sutherland, 27, said she looked for solace with convicted blackmailer Leon Shooter after her marriage to a fellow prison officer failed and a subsequent…

An independent report has urged ministers to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Scotland to 16 and set up a new youth justice system for offenders up to the age of 21.The work, commissioned jointly by the charity Action for Children and Bruce Adamson, Scotland’s Children and Young People’s…

Play fighting involving staff as well as inmates is "widespread" at a youth jail, an inspection found.The issue was referenced in a report on Rainsbrook secure training centre near Rugby in Warwickshire.It said: "Unacceptable levels of 'play fighting', by both young people and staff, remain widespread across the centre."Attempts by…

New guidelines surrounding the sentencing of all offenders are coming into force in Scotland's courts.For the first time in Scotland, the guidelines set down the fundamental principles and purposes of sentencing in a document.The guidelines, developed by the Scottish Sentencing Council, were approved by three senior judges at the end…

Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf has been urged to take action to halt the “spiralling epidemic” of suicides in Scotland’s prisons.The plea came after Mr Yousaf held talks with the parents of a young woman who took her own life while serving a sentence in Polmont Young Offenders Institution.Four months after…

The Justice Secretary has launched a new scheme to help ex-offenders stay off the streets and away from crime.David Gauke announced that Leeds, Pentonville and Bristol prisons will spearhead a £6 million pilot programme.It is aimed at helping prisoners find and stay in stable accommodation and re-integrate into society.Research shows…

Leading judges are being asked to rule that a teenager's "prolonged solitary confinement" in detention amounted to "inhuman and degrading" treatment.Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett, Lord Justice Moylan and Lord Justice Singh heard on Wednesday that the boy was locked alone in his cell at Feltham Young Offender Institution (pictured)…

The parents of a young woman who killed herself in jail after enduring "horrific experiences" have called for a review of Scotland's prison system.Katie Allan's family said on Thursday they wanted a meeting with Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf as they launched a campaign calling for change.The 21-year-old geography student was…

Offenders convicted of crimes involving violence or knives will generally no longer be able to serve part of their sentence at home on an electronic tag curfew.Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf announced the change in a statement at Holyrood on reviews of the curfew commissioned following the murder of father-of-three Craig…

Police could start using fitness tracker-style devices to monitor suspects' vital signs while in custody.Two UK forces are considering using the technology, which has been trialled in the NHS as what the inventors dub a "miniaturised intensive care" tracking system.A simplified version for custody suites would measure heart rate, oxygen…

A scheme to prevent young people from becoming repeat offenders has been given lottery funding.Police Scotland has been given money to help employ two adult mentors who have first-hand experience of beating the revolving door back to prison.The force’s initiative – which received £84,000 – is among 11 groups sharing…

Prisoners are merely being "warehoused" at a jail where they are kept in squalid conditions for up to 23 hours a day, a watchdog report has warned. Under a restricted regime, inmates at HMP Winchester are often let out of their cells for only three quarters of an hour a…