This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
Listen
Bill to tackle re-offending given MSP approval
03/11/2005
The Management of Offenders etc. (Scotland) Bill - which includes a range of new measures to tackle the country's high re-offending rates - has been formally approved by the Scottish Parliament.
The Bill is now expected to become law from the New Year, subject to receiving Royal Assent.
The Bill takes forward many of the policy commitments set out in the Criminal Justice Plan. Among the key provisions are plans to:
- establish new Community Justice Authorities which will co-ordinate and improve the delivery of services for offenders, and be responsible for monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness of joint working between local agencies to tackle re-offending.
- require the police, local authorities and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to establish joint arrangements for assessing and managing the risk posed by sexual and violent offenders, and also the health service in the case of mentally disordered offenders.
- end unconditional early release for sex offenders sentenced to between six months and four years in prison, who will instead be released on licence and may be subject to additional conditions, relating to their offending behaviour.
- enable the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to recover sums paid to victims from the perpetrators of crime. This aims to discourage offending and make offenders face up to the consequences of their crimes.
- establish a Home Detention Curfew scheme that will enable selected low risk prisoners nearing the end of their sentences to serve the remainder of their term in the community, subject to an electronically monitored curfew.
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said:
"Reconviction rates for offenders who have been in prison are unacceptably high and rates for community sentences are little better. That has implications for every community across the country in terms of increased levels of crime and a heightened fear of crime.
"This Act is an important milestone in our fight against the blight of crime. It aims to free those communities from that cycle of re-offending. And it takes forward many of the key elements of the Criminal Justice Plan aimed at better integration of offenders' services and more efficient working to improve offender management - in prison, upon release, and in the community.
"It will also ensure tighter and more effective management of sexual and violent offenders - a group who may be small in number but rightly generate particular public concern. The police, local authorities and SPS will now have to establish joint arrangements for assessing and managing the risk posed by these individuals. Meanwhile, the courts will be given new powers to take action against those who breach the terms of the sex offenders' registration scheme by failing to initially register their address or register a change in address.
"In all, the passing of the Bill signals an important step forward in our ambitious programme of criminal justice reforms. Reforms which aim to ensure we create more efficient, effective and joined up services to bring order to chaotic lives and bring greater confidence to our communities, through reduced crime and a reduced fear of crime."
The most recent reconviction data shows that around six out of 10 prisoners are reconvicted within two years of their prison release. The Bill's key objective is therefore to improve the management of offenders - in prison and in the community - to reduce these unacceptably high re-offending rates.
The key proposals for improving the way criminal justice services work together to address re-offending include:
- Establishing a national advisory body for offender management (this is an important feature of the new arrangements for managing offenders but does not require legislation and does not appear in the Act). It will develop a national strategy to reduce re-offending and take on responsibility for monitoring performance on offender management.
- Bringing local councils together into eight new Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) to ensure criminal justice social work services are as joined-up as possible. CJAs will in future receive the community component of criminal justice funding and be responsible for ensuring this is used effectively across the CJA's area. CJA boundaries were announced earlier this week.
- Placing a statutory duty on SPS and local authorities to work together to reduce re-offending and ensure they form effective local area partnerships to deliver integrated services for offenders in prison and the community.
- Requiring the police, local authorities, SPS and health service to establish joint arrangements for assessing and managing the risk posed by serious and sex offenders, including the sharing of information.
- Ending unconditional early release for sex offenders sentenced to between six months and four years in prison. They will instead be released on licence and may be subject to additional conditions, relating to their offending behaviour such as counselling or rehabilitation programmes. An Executive Stage Three amendment ensures this applies to those offenders being released as soon as the Bill becomes law - not just those sentenced from that date.
- Improving the transition from prison to the community - a period of abrupt change which can lead to a return to old ways and re-offending, by introducing HDC to enable selected low-risk prisoners to spend the last part of their sentence in the community, subject to an electronically monitored curfew. This will allow them to re-engage with family, training and employment opportunities to ease their reintegration into society and reduce their likelihood of re-offending. However, if they break their curfew agreements they will be returned to prison.
- Tightening the sex offenders' register by allow proceedings to be commenced in a wider range of courts against sex offenders who initially fail to register and whose whereabouts are unknown. This implements recommendation 47 of Cosgrove report which noted that operational difficulties had been encountered in cases where sex offenders failed to register and then moved to another part of the country.
- Allowing the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to recover compensation paid to the victims of crime from offenders who have, or later acquire, the means to pay. This does not impact on the rights of innocent victims to be appropriately compensated. Ministers are however determined to send a message to criminals that crime does not pay and that the public purse cannot be expected to continually pick up the tab for their criminality.
This information was released on November 3, 2005 but actually published online on November 4, 2005.