Over the last couple of months, we have had a variety of different people in to speak to the class regarding our Advanced Higher Modern Studies dissertations. Our first visitors were PC Black and PC Gray from Lothian and Borders Police, who we quizzed on a variety of subjects including Scottish sectarianism and arming the police. Then John Thayers from MELDAP (Midlothian& East Lothian Drugs & Alcohol Partnership) kindly came in and discussed the influence that drugs and alcohol can have on levels of crime, particularly at a local level. In the next few weeks we were visited by three MSPs, firstly Paul Wheelhouse from the SNP, then Graeme Pearson and Iain Grey from the Labour Party; with them we talked a lot about reoffending and the methods used by the criminal justice system as alternatives to prisons. We were also able to visit Haddington Sheriff Court where we spoke to the Sheriff about sentencing and sat in on some cases. All of these experiences were hugely useful for our dissertations, and we would like to thank everyone who gave up their time for us.

Robin Stewart 6G1