Criminal Justice in Scotland's Parliament

This part of the site is a weekly review of criminal justice business at Holyrood starting, in its present format, from September 2006. The page is supported by a grant awarded by the Clarke Foundation for Legal Education and is written by our Parliament correspondent, Katrina Morrison.

New: "Handy guide to criminal justice in the Scottish Parliament June 2007 - August 2008".

Glossary: 'Law Officers' = the Lord Advocate and the Solicitor-General for Scotland. 'SPICe' = Scottish Parliament Information Centre

It is possible to view Committee business on the 'Holyrood. TV' archive for up to a month following the date of the meeting.

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Parliamentary Report: 6th - 10th November

This week in Parliament saw the concluding evidence taken for the Prostitution (Public Places) Bill, and further evidence taken in scrutiny of the Custodial Sentence and Weapons Bill, which is proving so controversial for the Executive. In the Chamber there was a debate on violence against women and questions to the First Minister regarding, amongst other issues, automatic early release. 

Committees

The Justice 1 Committee met on Wednesday morning to continue their consideration of amendments to the Criminal Proceedings etc Bill. This Bill seeks to make wide ranging changes to the system of summary justice, specifically in the areas of bail, proceedings in court, to sentences, and finally to JP courts. The general principles of this Bill have already been agreed by the Parliament, and the Committee is now working its way through the amendments in Stage 2. You can access the Bill and all the helpful SPICe documents here.

The Committee considered amendments to the criminal proceedings part of the Bill including to allow, in certain circumstances, previous convictions to be disclosed to the court, for several charges to be hear during one trial, and for summary trials to go ahead in absence of the accused. You can read the full list of amendments under discussion here. 

There was a robust debate in the meeting with the deputy Justice Minister, Hugh Henry, who was speaking on behalf of the Bill. In essence, there was a conflict on one hand between the Executive’s desire to make the system more efficient, and to place as little strain on victims and witnesses as possible, and on the other, the perception of some on the Committee that some fundamental tenets of justice were in jeopardy.

You can read the full transcripts of the meeting here, and you can watch the entire meeting on Holyrood.TV here.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Justice 2 Committee met to take more evidence in their Stage 1 consideration of the Custodial Sentences and Weapons Bill. This Bill makes changes to the system of automatic early release of prisoners, and it also seeks to tighten the conditions surrounding the sale of knives and blades. You can read the Bill and the various SPICe guides here.

The Committee heard from members of the Association of Directors of Social Work, and from the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA). In their written submission, they outlined their concern that the measures in the Bill will result in considerable additional pressures on local government and on Criminal Justice Social Work services in particular. They further highlighted what they saw as a missed opportunity to work with those sentenced to between 15 days and 6 months, as there is a significant problem with re-offending rates in this group. They further argued that given that the Bill is adding significantly to amount of risk assessment required for each prisoner, that for reasons of effectiveness and efficiency only qualified social workers should work with high risk serious offenders, while ‘para professionals’ work with the lower risk offenders. It was also argued that the money available for extra supervision is less than half the amount required.
You can see the written submissions here (pages 4-10).

The Committee then heard from members of the Association of Chief Police Officers, and from the Violence Reduction Unit in Strathclyde Police.

ACPOS welcomed the changes to the system of automatic early release of offenders. They highlighted the need for decisions on offenders release to be based on not only their behaviour in prison, but also on sound risk assessment. The need for clear guidelines on co-operation and sharing of responsibility for the different criminal justice agencies was also underlined. They also warmly welcomed the restrictions regarding the sale of non domestic knives and swords. You can read their written submission here

The Violence Reduction Unit also broadly supported the licensing of the sale of swords and knifes, noting that a significant numbers of murders in Scotland (and in particular in the Strathclyde area) committed with a blade weapon. They comment that legislation and licensing alone will not make a substantial difference to the level of serious violence in Scotland, however, by decreasing the availability to these weapons, it is a welcome step in the right direction. You can read their written submissions here.

Finally, the Committee heard from members of the Prison Officers Association. In their written evidence, they outlined the pressures on a system which is currently housing the highest prison population yet experienced. They also commented on the uselessness of prison sentences of under 15 days, as there is little that can be done in terms of rehabilitation in this time, and the offences they are in for are often very trivial. Their main concern revolved around the resource implications for the prison service in what they view as already overstretched to the point that is no longer sustainable. You can read their written submission here.

In the meeting there were discussions about the new degree of co-operation that is occurring between the SPS, local authorities, and the new community justice authorities. There was more analysis of the problem of resources that will be required for the extra supervision the Bill proposes, with significant concerns raised in particular regarding social work capacity. There was also broad agreement that short prison sentences make little sense in helping offenders rehabilitate. The speakers spoke of their desire to tie what they saw as the general direction of the Bill, with their aim of reducing re-offending. There were also discussions about how to involve the voluntary sector, and how to enforce the sections of the Bill relating to the sale of weapons.

You can read the minutes for the whole meeting here, and watch it on Holyrood.TV here. You can also read the one story in the press here.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Local Government and Transport Committee met to take more evidence as part of their Stage 1 scrutiny of the Prostitution (Public Places) Bill. This Bill makes changes to the regulation of street prostitution, including the powers to prosecute those who buy sex. However, in previous sessions there has been significant concern raised as to whether the Bill as it currently stands would deliver equality in treatment between seller and buyer. Proving an offence against the buyer is likely to be problematic. You can access the Bill and accompanying SPICe guides here.

The Committee heard from members of the Scottish Executive Justice Department who were responsible for drawing up the Bill and then from a Principal Procurator Fiscal Depute from the Crown Office, who spoke about how the Bill would be prosecuted. The main theme to emerge during questioning related to the difficulties in prosecuting those who buy sex. This has been a near universal concern raised by all those who have previously given evidence to the Committee. The civil servants denied that the Bill would produce inequity in treatment between buyer and seller, and argued further that to introduce an offence of kerb crawling could firstly wrongly criminalise those who were doing nothing wrong, and secondly, to prove ‘intent’ for such an offence would prove too problematic. In response to questions as to why an offence would be committed when ‘causing alarm, offence, or nuisance’ as opposed to buying or selling sex, speakers highlighted the international experiences of difficulty in prosecuting buyers of sex, which were seen to be especially problematic under Scottish criminal law, which requires corroboration and proof beyond reasonable doubt. Other questions related to how tolerance zones would fit in the new legislation, and whether they would consider renaming the Bill so as to reduce the possible stigmatizing effect on those who move out of prostitution.

You can read the full transcripts of the meeting here, and you can watch the meeting on Holyrood.TV here

Finally, the Finance Committee met on Wednesday to consider the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill , which is currently being scrutinised by the Education Committee. This Bill seeks to implement rigorous new enhanced disclosure checks on people doing a range of voluntary work, which would lead to an estimated one million people across Scotland having to pass such disclosure before being able to continue with their work. You can access the Bill and its accompanying documents here.

They heard firstly from members of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, who raised their concerns as to the significant negative impact on volunteering that the new vetting would have, and then from members of the Executive who drafted the Bill, who justified the need for vetting in order to protect vulnerable groups.

You can read the full transcripts from the meeting here, and read the story in the press here.

Chamber

The only justice related debate in the Chamber this week was an Executive led debate on violence against women, which comes in the run-up to the 16 Days Campaign which in 2006 celebrates its 16th year campaigning against worldwide gender violence. The motion stated the Parliament’s commitment to the cause of ending violence against women, and praised those who work to raise the profile all forms of male violence against women in Scotland, as well as offering support to those who experience it. The motion also supported the moves the Executive has made in its effort to tackle violence against women in all its forms.

There was an amendment from the SSP, which expressed concern at the low conviction rates for rape and sexual offences and called on the Executive to make changes to the criminal justice system so that the continuing examination of victims’ sexual history and character during trials be halted. You can read the motion and amendment here.

During the debate, Malcolm Chisolm, said he had great sympathy with the amendment from the SSP, but said the Executive had made many changes to the way that victims are treated in the court process, and that they are awaiting the publication of the evaluation into the Sexual Offences (Procedure and Evidence) Act 2002, and the Law Commission’s report into the law in this area before making any further decisions. He added that the Crown Office’s review of prosecution of rape contained 50 recommendations to improve the prosecution of rape and other sexual offences, which were currently being acted on. There was discussion on why reported incidence of violence against women has increased over the years, about funding for refuge places, and about access to legal aid. Three was recognition of the situation of violence against women internationally, and about the effect on children of domestic abuse.

In what was more a discussion, characterised by a broad degree of consensus, than a debate, there was support for the motion across the Chamber. While there was much sympathy for the amendment, the majority if the speakers wanted to await the publishing of the forthcoming reviews (mentioned above), before being too critical of the Executive’s record in this area. This resulted in the amendment not being passed, and the resulting original motion being agreed to by the Chamber.

You can read the transcripts of this debate here, of you can watch it on Holyrood.TV by clicking here. You can also read the (very limited) media coverage of the debate here

Questions

During general questions, Cathy Jamieson was asked about the possibility of holding a public inquiry into the SCRO fingerprint case. She replied that she would await the forthcoming Justice 1 Committee report on this subject, and act after listening to any recommendations they make. Read the question here.

During First Minister’s Questions, Jack McConnell was asked about the current system of automatic early release in relation to one of the suspects convicted earlier in the week for the racist killing of a Glasgow teenager. Annabelle Goldie, for the Conservatives, argued that had one of the convicted men served an earlier sentence in full, he would have been unable to take part in the murder. Mr McConnell refused to be drawn into making what he called ‘political points’, and then went on to say it was the Conservatives who had introduced the system of automatic early release, and it was Labour who was about to abolish it in the forthcoming Custodial Sentances and Weapons Bill. You can read the exchange here, and you can read the stories in the press here.

He was later questioned by Colin Fox of the SSP about what the Executive is doing to reduce prison overcrowding in light of the Chief Inspector of Prisons recent critical report which highlighted prison overcrowding as an area of prime concern. He highlighted the fact that nearly half of those in prison are serving sentences of under three months, and there is recognition from the SPS that there is little in the way of rehabilitation that can be done with people serving such short sentences. Mr McConnell replied that the Executive’s main concern was reducing and tackling crime in Scotland, improving the clear-up rate, improving sentencing and tackling anti-social behaviour than addressing prison overcrowding. You can read the exchange here.

In the written questions this week were questions about funding for anti-social behaviour legislation, read here; how many appeals have taken place against asylum applications outcomes in Scottish courts, read here; funding for CCTV in each local authority area, read here; a question about if the Crown Office is required to act in the broader public interest and not only as a prosecution service can be read here; a question about the amount of police and sheriff officers’ time being used to cite witnesses for court appearances can be read here; a question about the amount of offenders who have had fines deducted directly from their benefits and wages can be read here, and a question about female remand prisoners can be read here, about sniffer dogs used in prisons, read here; a question about staffing numbers in each Scottish prison over the last five years can be read here (see also the story in the press here); and about the projected number of prisoners serving four years or more can be read here.

Posted by KM on Wed 15th Nov 2006 at 5:18 pm
Legislation Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill Prostitution (Public Places) (Scotland) Bill Custodial Sentences and Weapons Bill Gender and crime • Permalink • Tell-a-Friend

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