1919 Magazine

Behind bars: Two thirds of prisoners freed early are homeless upon release - 1919 Magazine With more prisoners due to be released early to help ease overcrowding in jails, fears are growing that many will be leaving without anywhere to go

Two thirds of people leaving Scottish prisons under early release are walking straight into homelessness. Support teams warn they’re being set up to fail in an already overwhelmed housing system

News: ‘Unsustainable’ police overtime bill hits £3m in just one month - 1919 Magazine Increasing demands within Scottish policing driving overtime costs up

Police Scotland spent £3m on overtime in a single month, as officers are called in on their days off to cope with soaring demand. With fewer officers, more protests, and rising serious crime work, the force says the pressure is becoming unsustainable

In the dock: Officer’s wrist broken in street attack - 1919 Magazine A police officer's wrist was broken during a street attack in Lanarkshire

Woman narrowly avoids prison after police officer’s wrist broken in street assault

Topical spotlight: Shifting gear - 1919 Magazine Can Scotland’s law enforcement cope with more drug-drivers?

Majority of drivers pulled over for drug-driving in Scotland test positive

News: Rank-and-file call for ban on mobiles in schools - 1919 Magazine Now Scottish firefighters are caught up in same major pensions battle as police

Scotland’s police union says schools should ban mobile phones, arguing they fuel many of the behavioural issues children face. Some councils have already moved ahead with restrictions and Scottish Labour is backing a nationwide ban

Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar MSP, writes exclusively for 1919

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A former senior police officer says new two-way GPS tagging in domestic abuse cases is already proving to be life-saving

The Scottish Police Federation is calling for a full mobile phone ban in schools, saying the devices drive early behavioural problems. With some councils already enforcing restrictions, pressure is growing for a rethink on tech in the classroom

Figures obtained by 1919 reveal that 180 police stations have closed since the creation of Police Scotland

Retired police officers caught up in Scotland’s pensions crisis are now being asked to pay money back

“I think we suppress loads… I think if we had to keep all this trauma and live it every day, we wouldn’t survive” – Police Scotland officer

On a cold, wet Glasgow morning, a small group of runners is quietly changing lives. "Jog On" is supporting people in recovery and helping former prisoners

Police Scotland spent £3m on overtime in just one month, as officers are called in on their days off to cope with rising demand

Two thirds of people leaving Scottish prisons under early release are walking straight into homelessness

The December edition of 1919 is out now. Every article can be accessed from this page:

1919magazine.co.uk/december2025...

📣 One week to go until the release of the December edition of 1919 📣

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In the corridors: Scotland does not need a spiking law, Justice Secretary claims - 1919 Magazine Justice Secretary Angela Constance claims that Scotland does not need a new law to tackle spiking

No standalone spiking offence for Scotland, says Justice Secretary, but campaigners and some MSPs warn the law isn’t strong or clear enough

Behind bars: Have organised crime gangs infiltrated prison workforce? - 1919 Magazine Prison union warns that organized crime gang members could infiltrate Scotland’s jails by getting jobs as wardens

Prison Officers’ Association claims organised crime could infiltrate Scottish prisons through recruitment

1919magazine.co.uk/november2025...

News: Organised crime fears as more kids accused of attempted murder - 1919 Magazine Adult gang members could be behind the rise in Scottish kids accused of attempted murder

Child attempted murder cases in Scotland have tripled. Critics blame “soft justice”, while police point to gangs exploiting young people

1919magazine.co.uk/november2025...

News: minimum pricing for tobacco - 1919 Magazine A minimum price for tobacco could cut smoking rates, with the largest impact expected to be in the most deprived areas

“A minimum price for tobacco would decrease the number of people who smoke and consequently bring health benefits”

1919magazine.co.uk/november2025...

News: No early release plea for assaulting police - 1919 Magazine With a new tranche of prisoners set to be released early under a scheme to ease overcrowding in Scotland’s jails, police chiefs are calling for those with convictions for assaulting officers to be…

A police officer searching for a vulnerable person was punched in the face by a jogger - only for the case to be dropped. PC Darren Gallagher says the justice system made him feel like his safety “did not count”

Read a round-up of this month's police and justice developments in our Notebook here:

Healing behind bars: prisoners are exploring trauma and self-worth through sound therapy

Does Scotland need a spiking law? The Justice Secretary says no

From gyms to Instagram, steroids and IPEDs are normalised, but experts warn that widespread use among young people could have serious long-term health consequences

“It wasn’t just about the murder rate, but making Scotland a safer place to grow up in.”
20 years on, the Violence Reduction Unit continues to transform communities

Almost 1,900 retired firefighters are still waiting for pension payouts after scheme switch

Have organised crime gangs infiltrated the Scottish prison service?

The Scottish Government is considering introducing minimum pricing for tobacco

Police Scotland knows it must embrace technology, but admits Scotland’s public is slower to accept policing tech than elsewhere in the UK.