This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Countdown to major justice reforms
01/03/2007
Scotland's criminal justice agencies are on-track to deliver a future with fewer victims, less violence and safer communities Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson told the SACRO annual conference in Edinburgh today.
She told delegates that one month from today massive structural changes will come on-line, driving forward vital improvements, including:
- Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) take up their full powers - helping to reduce reoffending by improving the way local councils, the Scottish Prison Service and other agencies work together to manage offenders
- Introduction of Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPAs) - ensuring sex offenders are tracked all the way through the criminal justice system and beyond by agencies combining their intelligence and expertise
- The Scottish Police Services Authority becomes fully operational - modernising the police service. This will bring together police training, criminal records, the development of national information systems and a new national forensic service. The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency will also form part of the organisation, having been put on a statutory basis with new statutory powers and functions
Ms Jamieson said:
"Crime is falling. That is good news for decent, law-abiding people who want to feel safe in their homes and in their streets. Last year there were 20,000 fewer crimes recorded by the police and violent crime is at its lowest level since devolution. But we still face a major challenge in reducing the number of repeat offenders in Scotland.
"Better public safety cannot be delivered by a series of separate agencies with different priorities and different objectives working independently. We need services that co-operate and share information so that the actions they take are the right ones at the right time. That will be the key to breaking the cycle of reoffending.
"That is why this one-month countdown to the next raft of reforms going live is also the countdown to a justice system that works more effectively to make daily lives safer and more secure.
"By ensuring joint working between all the organisations involved in managing offenders, we will ensure that these bodies have the links, the information and the systems in place to best protect the public and to turn offenders' lives around.
"Clearly the police will have an important role to play in this new system of monitoring and management. That's why we need also to ensure that the police are supported in their work by modern and effective support services. By bringing together shared police support services under a single national authority we can find new ways to improve the way we support front line police officers.
"This Executive has set the criminal justice system on a new path - a path to a better future with fewer victims, less violence and safer communities. We have set the direction and put the legislation in place. But much of the hard work remains ahead of us. The challenge is to make sure professionals and practitioners make these changes work in practice. That will need commitment, leadership and determination.
"That's why I am encouraged to see so many professionals come together for this conference today. It is this spirit of joint responsibility, shared development and sharper communication on which a safer future depends."
There are eight Community Justice Authorities (CJAs) across Scotland which have been operating on a 'shadow capacity' since April 2006, before formally being established from April 2, this year. They are made up of the following local authorities:
- Glasgow
- Aberdeenshire, Aberdeen City, Moray, Highland, Orkney, Shetland, Eilean Siar
- Angus, Dundee City, Perth and Kinross
- Fife, Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Stirling
- City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, Midlothian, Scottish Borders
- Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde
- North and South Lanarkshire
- East, North and South Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway
CJAs are responsible for:
- Working with local authorities, the SPS and other partners to prepare local joint area plans focused on tackling re-offending, which will require to be submitted to Minister for approval
- Monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness of joint working between all local partners, including police forces, NHS Boards, relevant voluntary organisations, the Scottish Courts Service and the Crown Office
- Supporting better information-sharing and the sharing of good practice
- Allocating funding for criminal justice social work services in local areas and ensuring this is used effectively to improve the management of offenders, and tackle Scotland's high re-offending rates
The Management of Offenders etc. (Scotland) Act 2005 introduce a statutory function for Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements . This means that the police, local authorities and the Scottish Prison Service must establish joint arrangements to assess and manage the risk posed by sexual and violent offenders. These include the NHS where the sexual and violent offenders are also mentally disordered offenders.
On January 1, 2007 the SPSA was brought into being as a legal entity so that all the necessary preparations can be taken forward for SPSA to assume its full statutory powers and functions on April 1, 2007.