Undercover officers secretly spied on the Hackney Community Defence Association in east London, because it sought to expose wrongdoing and corruption in the Metropolitan police www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Today, the Scottish 'justice' system' is facing a number of challenges. One that a lot of people aren't aware of is our informal plea-bargaining system. Our new blog draws on the post office scandal to highlight the dangers of this murky world of grubby deals. erasmusresearch.com/the-hidden-c...

erasmusresearch.com/historical-w... Official apologies come easy. Accountability doesn’t. Read Professor Margaret Malloch on the long road to justice after Hillsborough and Allan Marshall.

The new ICE song by Jesse Welles nails it. ICE isn’t recruiting heroes, it’s recruiting the bitter, the rejected, the ones desperate for a badge to cover their failures. Losers with power become the most dangerous kind. (c/o Caroline Codsi)

PODCAST - Professor Margaret Malloch discusses her research looking at the contemporary movements memorialising the Scottish Witch Hunts. So many parallels between historical and contemporary forms of scapegoating... watch the podcast below 👇👇👇 erasmusresearch.com/remembering-...

Fear isn’t a by-product of authoritarianism. It is the strategy. From war-footing propaganda to hostile welfare cuts, the UK is waging psychological warfare on its own people. Read why fear is the system — and how we resist it: erasmusresearch.com/the-politica... #politics

LAPD out there like

Why we stand with Kneecap - a short blog on being on the right side of history... erasmusresearch.com/being-on-the...

Many thanks to @joesmithcreative.bsky.social for an excellent write up of our session at the Paisley Book Festival last month paisleybookfestival.com/blog-buildin...

What if punishment isn't about justice—but about power, control, and unconscious desire? Judges as moral actors… or as performers of dominance? New blog: The Pleasure of Punishment 👇 erasmusresearch.com/the-pleasure...

Paisley plants 🫶

Blooming fabulous Paisley 👌

Paisley is blooming great 👌

The UN Special Rapporteur for Torture stated in 2023, indeterminate sentences create “levels of pain or suffering beyond those inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions. Yet, the Scottish Government persists in handing out the OLR #NOLR #HumanRights

“The Scottish penal system has long been regarded as one of the most progressive in the world, but OLR discredits the nation yet, unlike IPP, has not been ended.” 2024- Wendy Sinclair-Gieben, then serving Chief Inspector of Prisons in Scotland. #NOLR #endOLRsentences

Want to help? Go to nolr.org/how-you-can-..., where you can find a template letter to your MSP, make a donation or contact us and join us as a member.

Today we are highlighting some of the basic facts about OLRs and statistics on how they have been used. Follow #NOLR for all posts

279 OLRs have been imposed since 2006, but only 24 people have been released, with 8 recalled to prison. Source: www.rma.scot/olr/about-the-olr/ #NOLR #PrisonReform

Scotland has one of the highest prison mortality rates in Europe, OLRs are creating toxic conditions that make this situation worse. 18 people on OLRs have died in custody and 6 in the community, with five people most likely having ended their own life. Source: FOI by #NOLR #ScottishPrisonService

The OLR was introduced to protect the public from “the most serious sexual and violent offenders.” However, 124 people have been given an OLR with a punishment tariff of less than 4 years – 29 of which are under 2 years. #NOLR #ScotJustice

By 2029, it is predicted there will be 330 OLR prisoners and many will remain in prison for many years over their tariff. The bill to the Scottish taxpayer for one prisoner per year is over £47,000. This means the annual bill for just OLR prisoners in 2029 will be £15,510,000. #PublicCosts #NOLR

RMA Guidelines say: ‘assessors should state clearly the limitations of making judgements about life course persistent risk in relation to children/young people’. Despite this, 38 OLRs have been handed out to under 25s, 13 to under 20s #NOLR #UNCRC #YouthJustice

Want to help? Go to nolr.org/how-you-can-..., where you can find a template letter to your MSP, make a donation or contact us and join us as a member.

Today we are highlighting the stories of people on Orders of Lifelong Restrictions. Follow #NOLR for all posts.

‘L’ was given an OLR for breach of the peace. Given a 6 month tariff, he has spent 12 years in prison, where he was diagnosed with autism. It will be at least 4 years before he is released, but he is already scared that one minor misstep once out will see him back in prison #NOLR

‘R’ spent 16 yrs in prison on an OLR with a punishment tariff of 2 ½ yrs. Released by the Parole Board, he was recalled after 4 days because a Social Worker claimed he breached his parole licence. R insists he complied and doesn’t know what he did wrong #NOLR #IPPCampaign

‘P’ has been in prison for 18 yrs with a punishment tariff of 18 months. Despite a diagnosis of autism 6 yrs ago, he has not had his risk assessment updated, even though the Parole Board agree this should have been done. He feels he is being warehoused and has lost hope #NOLR #MentalHealth

‘J’ appealed a sentence of 4 yrs for a non-violent offence, which he says was a cry for help. The judge said that he was imposing an OLR with a punishment tariff of 2 yrs because this would get him the help he needs. This was 4 yrs ago and J’s mental health is deteriorating #NOLR #MentalHealth

Want to help? Please go to to nolr.org/how-you-can-..., where you can find a template letter to your MSP, make a donation or contact us and join us as a member.

I am truly terrified for Hamdan. If you don’t know who Hamdan Ballal is, he is the director of No Other Land and he and Yuval both won the Oscar for Best Documentary this year

New campaign starting today highlighting the injustice of the Order of Lifelong Restriction (OLR) in Scotland. Read our blog explaining the problems with the OLR. Follow the campaign #NOLR erasmusresearch.com/highlighting...

Watch this space next week, when we launch our social media campaign highlighting the injustice of the Order of Lifelong Restriction. A little preview here. #NOLR

🔴 NEW: A 22-year-old man died alone in his cell at Scotland’s only private prison after waiting months for mental health support. Now his family plans to sue HMP Addiewell, claiming it failed in its duty of care. Read the full story: bit.ly/41RmLev

A second repost by artist Richard K Blades Winter Sky study, Gouache on paper 6”x 6” ❤️ #art #landscape

The women who exposed the #spycops sent by the state to deceive and rape them have faced these horrors with extraordinary courage and strength. They have revealed the lengths to which the state will go - regardless of whether the Conservatives or Labour are in office - to crush dissent.

5⭐ for The Undercover Police Scandal: Love & Lies Exposed "their partners accompanied them to siblings’ weddings & parents’ death beds... That the women’s experiences were eerily alike underlines that this was an elaborate & expensive state-sanctioned operation" www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

On avoidable deaths in state custody - 'Jailed, Failed, Forgotten', indeed - www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4... @inquest-org.bsky.social @debcoles13.bsky.social @bschcnetwork.bsky.social

Who is HN1? Next week the #spycops public inquiry finishes the hearings covering 1983-92 with testimony from a key officer, known as HN1. He's been given a last-minute set of special measures to protect his anonymity & the Inquiry won't say why campaignopposingpolicesurveillance.com/2025/02/08/s...

Indigenous women have been stargazers and astronomers since time immemorial. Fuck this. I've got two stories on my website about stargazing Indigenous women if you want to learn more. womenof1000ad.weebly.com/guni.html womenof1000ad.weebly.com/stargazers-o...

At Next Chapter Scotland we recognise that women with a criminal record can face unique challenges. We have therefore created a dedicated and FREE support service to help you to navigate such challenges. The helpline can be accessed via: [email protected] or 0330 355 7145

I wonder why office space investor and Amprop owner “Lord” Sugar would say this.. hmmm 🤷‍♂️

Today the #spycops public inquiry is questioning a unit manager known only as HN109. It isn't being livestreamed, & at the Inquiry his voice is being modulated. Even so, no recording will be published in case future tech allows people to unmodulate it & recognise him.

@georgemonbiot.bsky.social is right to point out that political capture has compromised counterterrorism policing. We would suggest that the political policing of domestic populations is central to understanding why a domestic police force was formed. #spycops erasmusresearch.com/the-politics...

We know January can be a challenging time—budgets are tight, and the post-holiday blues can set in. But even the smallest donation can make a huge difference to the work we do at Next Chapter Scotland. Visit our website to donate: www.nextchapterscotland.org.uk/donate Thank you for your support. 💙