The BBC has reported that “Scottish government renames ‘offender’ as ‘person with conviction’.” This was as a result of the work undertaken by our good selves at the behest of the Scottish Government. The labelling of people with convictions as an offender or ex-offender is a pejorative statement that can keep someone in the revolving door of criminality. By losing the label, we can give people hope that there is a different way forward for them to contribute to society…
The change is not a new thing though. It was first introduced by Paul Wheelhouse MSP who was the then community safety Minister when he was speaking at an employability conference in Edinburgh. Throughout his speech Mr Wheelhouse referred to people with convictions…
There is still much work to be done to remove other labels and this is something we shall continue to strive for…
BBC Story (well they did link to our website…)
The story was also discussed on the Stephen Jardine show on Radio Scotland…