“Public safety and the protection of victims remains a priority,” Angela Constance told MSPs on 12 February. Within weeks, that priority takes written form: new Parole Board (Scotland) rules will require panels to factor in victim and family safety in every case referred from 25 March 2026. The changes flow from the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, which reshaped key parts of criminal justice after Royal Assent in October. (gov.scot)

Under a new Rule 11, panels must consider the likely impact of their decision on the safety and security of any victim and of any victim’s family member. It clarifies that the Board does not have to seek out extra victim information if it isn’t already available, and confirms the panel may still weigh wider issues such as the offence, behaviour in custody, risk on release and the person’s plans in the community. These points tighten practice that had previously been guided but not always set out in mandatory terms in Scotland’s 2022 rules. (gov.scot)

Rule 12 addresses the hardest cases: murders and culpable homicides where a victim’s remains have not been recovered. Where there are reasonable grounds to believe the prisoner has information about how or where a body was disposed of, and has not disclosed it, the panel must take that into account when considering release. This is a shift from the older position-when panels could consider non‑disclosure-to one where they must. (parliament.scot)

Campaigners have long pressed for this, often using the shorthand “Suzanne’s Law” after Edinburgh bookkeeper Suzanne Pilley, whose body has never been found. Families told the Scotsman the uncertainty is “mental torture”, and ministers backed changes ensuring parole cannot ignore non‑disclosure. The Times reported the measure during the Bill’s passage, noting it would place a duty on the Board to factor in non‑disclosure. (scotsman.com)

For Northern readers used to England and Wales’ ‘Helen’s Law’, Scotland’s move will feel familiar. Westminster’s 2020 Act already requires the Parole Board to consider non‑disclosure of victims’ remains (and, in some cases, the identity of child victims in indecent images). Scotland is now embedding a similar duty in its own rules while preserving the Board’s discretion to judge overall risk. (gov.uk)

Context matters. The 2025 Scottish Act also scrapped the “not proven” verdict and raised the conviction threshold to a two‑thirds jury majority-part of a wider effort, ministers say, to make justice clearer and more transparent. The parole changes sit alongside that agenda, with the Scottish Parliament setting the statutory basis and ministers updating the rules that guide the Board’s day‑to‑day work. (feeds.bbci.co.uk)

For victims and families in the North with cases tied to Scottish courts, the immediate effect is practical rather than symbolic. Safety concerns-proximity to home, work, school, or specific contact risks-are now a required consideration in the Board’s reasoning. That can translate into tighter licence conditions and clearer explanations when decisions are issued, particularly in indeterminate cases where the Board already publishes anonymised summaries. (scottishparoleboard.scot)

This isn’t a blanket “no body, no parole”. As with Helen’s Law, the duty is to consider non‑disclosure within the overall risk test. Panels will still weigh behaviour in custody, progress on programmes, release plans and community risk management. But victims’ safety-and the pain of non‑disclosure-are no longer items that can be sidelined. They must be confronted in writing. (gov.uk)

The timetable is tight. The Scottish Statutory Instrument was made on 12 February, laid on 13 February and applies to cases referred to the Parole Board on or after 25 March 2026. Victims worried about early releases or changing dates should register for the Victim Notification Scheme; Constance has said officials will work with support organisations to raise awareness and ensure people are told about changes that affect them. (gov.scot)

For Border communities-from Berwick and Coldstream to Carlisle-cross‑border realities won’t vanish, but the direction of travel is clear. Scotland is bringing victim impact and non‑disclosure to the forefront of parole decision‑making. We’ll report on the first decisions under the new rules this spring and speak to Northern families who have dealt with the process from both sides of the line.