I grew up in communities steeped in poverty, indeed, in every aspect of inequality, on council estates around Aberdeen and North Lanarkshire.

In the 1980s and 90s of my youth these were communities where children had few opportunities and little hope, more so because they witnessed adults struggling with that same poverty often further entrenched in mental health or substance abuse issues. This is all to say that I grew up in places that were steeped in crime and I understood, even then as a child, that most people who commit crime don’t do so simply because they are "bad" but because they feel, and often have been, disenfranchised from society at the earliest age. Here I am writing for The Herald but I’m very aware that I could easily have ended up part of the prison population myself.

So, I’ve taken an interest in the early release of non-violent prisoners in Scotland because I have some insight into the communities they will be released into. These are communities already at the end of their tether with few resources, collective or personal, to manage an influx of prisoners at various states of rehabilitation.

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As I’ve written before, last year my family and I emigrated to Sweden to give our child what we hope will be the most progressive, secure and safe childhood possible. So, it might surprise you to hear that we moved to a city colloquially known as the "Crime Capital" in the Swedish press and that we live........

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