This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Tayside praised for criminal justice reforms
09/08/2005
Criminal justice agencies in Tayside and Dundee were
today praised for leading the way in piloting and
implementing several of the Executive's key criminal
justice reforms.
Speaking ahead of a visit to Dundee, Justice Minister
Cathy Jamieson said the police, council and courts had
shown a forward-thinking attitude in reforming a range of
services. She said the reforms will benefit service users
and help make the area a better and safer place to live and
work.
Among the key developments taking place in the area
are:
- Piloting fixed penalty notices (FPN) for antisocial
behaviour by Tayside Police. These can be issued for a
range of low-level offences such as being drunk and
incapable in public or noise nuisance, and aim to free
up the amount of time which the police and courts spend
dealing with minor offenders.
- Piloting community reparation orders (CRO) for
antisocial behaviour. These can be given to anyone
convicted in court of minor offences such as vandalism
and require individuals to make some form of reparation
to their local community through unpaid community
work.
- Being one of the early areas to introduce drug
treatment and testing orders (DTTO). These are given to
offenders who might otherwise be given a custodial
sentence and are a tough, community based option that
aims to tackles the offender's drug misuse and their
drug-related offending by requiring them to agree to
regular drug testing and a programme of treatment.
- Running a well established and respected community
service order programme. The Dundee scheme provides a
comprehensive range of work placements - from local
charities and voluntary organisations to environmental
work. It also runs a fully equipped workshop which
undertakes various projects.
Ms Jamieson said:
"The Executive is committed to modernising our courts
and laws to create a criminal justice service that is
designed around the needs of the law-abiding many and which
ensures we can take swift, effective action against the
law-breaking few.
"One of the areas of greatest on-going concern to the
public is antisocial behaviour and the impact this has on
their day-to-day lives. The Antisocial Behaviour Act
provides a range of smart, new measures to deal with these
individuals. I am pleased that two of these - fixed penalty
notices and community reparation orders - are being piloted
by Tayside police, and by Dundee District and Sheriff
Courts.
"Both options enable the authorities to take swift and
effective action against offenders, showing - financially
or visibly - that this kind of behaviour is not
acceptable.
"Tayside was also one of the earlier areas in Scotland
to establish a DTTO scheme - designed for high tariff
offenders to tackle both their drug dependence and
associated drug-related crime. To date, the local scheme,
involving Dundee, Angus and Perth and Kinross Councils has
resulted in the Tayside Courts imposing more than 120
orders, to help get these individuals off drugs, and out of
a life of crime.
"While each of these schemes deal with very different
groups of offenders - from those involved in low level
disorder and vandalism to those who may be involved in
drug-related theft - each of them is designed to provide an
effective punishment which fits the crime. I want to
commend those who have been involved in supporting these
schemes to date and look forward to hearing about the
future successes of the two new ASB pilots."
The Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act introduced a
power for the police to issue fixed penalty notices for a
range of low level offences committed by anyone aged 16 and
over. They aim to free up police time and the amount of
time the court spends on dealing with more minor
offenders.
Tayside Police began piloting FPNs on April 1 2005 and
in the first three months officers issued more than 600
notices mainly for breach of the peace, urinating in a
public place and noise nuisance. Offenders who are given a
FPN are required to pay a fine of between £40 and have up
to 28 days to challenge the fine or pay it in full. If the
fine is not paid within 28 days, and unchallenged, it
increases to £60 and is treated as a registered fine from
the district court.
The ASB Act introduced CROs for use by courts. This is a
low tariff order which can be given to anyone from the age
of 12 and which require offenders to make some form of
reparation to their local community by carrying out between
10 and 100 hours of unpaid work. Some activities of an
education/lifeskills nature will also play a part. Pilot
schemes for CROS began in Inverness, Greenock and Dundee in
April. Seven orders have so far been put in place in
Dundee.
DTTOs are an innovative criminal justice disposal with
two aims - reduce the amount of crime committed to fund
drug misuse, and to reduce the level of drug misuse. DTTOs
are a high tariff disposal for offenders who might
otherwise receive a custodial sentence - a smart, tough
option which requires offenders to agree to regular drug
testing and a programme of treatment. They are available to
the High Court and sheriff courts and were first introduced
in Tayside in March 2003. Between then and June 2005, 121
DTTOs had been put in place in Tayside.
Community service orders require offenders to do unpaid,
useful work to benefit the local area and are intended as a
direct alternative to custody, over a specified number of
hours.