This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Police told community safety is top priority
16/05/2002
The Executive's remains firmly committed to tackling
crime and the fear of crime to create a safer Scotland,
the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents
conference in Peebles was told today.
Justice Minister Jim Wallace reaffirmed the work being
done in communities to tackle crime and make people feel
safer.
He said:
"Feeling safe is a basic human right and we can never
let up on the need to tackle both crime and the fear of
crime in our communities. We are acting on several fronts
to achieve this aim both in terms of our policies and, in
practical terms, on the ground.
"On a policy level we are actively working in
partnership with the police, fire services, lcoal councils
and a number of related bodies through the Scottish Forum
on Community Safety.
"On a practical level we have a new community safety
partnership award programme which will give all Council led
Community Safety Partnerships a share of £12 million over
the next three years for local community safety
initiatives. The Programme will allow Community Safety
Partnerships to secure, for the first time, sustained
mainstream funding to be used solely for the purposes of
taking forward the community safety agenda.
"I am also pleased to support ongoing Safer Scotland
campaigns, including the Crime Brakers campaign and an
autumn campaign will focus on public reassurance and high
visibility policing. I hope the outcome of these campaigns
will be as positive as the Safer Streets campaign in 2000
and last year's Know the Score campaign."
The Minister also addressed concerns from the police
that the Executive intended to abandon the adult justice
system for those aged 16 to 18. He said:
"Let me make it absolutely clear that we have no such
proposal and do not intend to. For some in this age group,
I have no doubt that the adult justice system and a
custodial sentence are entirely appropriate.
"But we should be looking at ways of making our system
more effective and that should include studying whether an
extension of the Children's Hearings system might be of
benefit for some of the offenders within this age group. So
we intend, through the Criminal Justice Bill, to allow
pilot studies of Children's Hearings for 16 to 18 year
olds.
"The idea is to ensure that those committing minor
offences are given assistance to address patterns of
offending, with sentence disposals tailored to their needs
and with a view to breaking the cycle of offending. We have
received substantial support for this development,
including from the Sheriff's Association and the Scottish
Prison Service and indeed qualified support from the
Scottish Police Federation.
"And let me again stress that the pilots will be
monitored throughout and the results fully evaluated before
any decisions on extending them are taken, Indeed, as the
Bill stands, future primary legislation would be required
to roll out any extension of the project. The Procurator
Fiscal will retain the right to prosecute through the
courts any young person, if the offence or the public
interest merits this."