Listen
New bill to tackle crime
25/09/2008
New laws to help police and prosecutors tackle crime at every level were announced today as part of the wide ranging Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill.
Amongst the measures to be included in the Bill are:
- plans to crack down on prisoners who use mobile phones to run their criminal empires from prison
- an extension of Sexual Offences Prevention Orders to better safeguard the public
- new provisions to protect the public from exposure to extreme pornographic material
The Bill will also include measures to help detection of crime and make sentences served in the community more robust, immediate and visible.
The document published today also confirms that a number of measures that have previously been announced will be included in the Bill, such as:
- establishing a framework for the disclosure of evidence in court proceedings
- abolishing "unruly" certificates to end the remanding of child accused to adult prisons
- pouses and civil partners will no longer be able to refuse to give evidence against their other half in court cases
- new offences to capture the "big players" who direct organised crime along with offences to tackle their more junior associates who ensure that criminal activity is conducted
Speaking as more detail of the Bill was unveiled, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said:
"I want to ensure that the people working in our criminal justice system are equipped to deal with the impact of offending from the moment a crime is committed, through the police investigation and court process and on to sentencing.
"We have already announced new measures to crack down on serious and organised crime and are consulting on the creation of a Sentencing Council to ensure consistency of sentencing - measures to be included in the Bill.
"These changes, along with the others, will allow the police, courts and prisons to take the fight to criminals and ensure Scotland truly is a safer and stronger place for hard working families to live and work in."
Revitalising Justice - Proposals to Modernise and Improve the Criminal Justice System is a summary of proposals to be included in the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill which is due to be introduced to Parliament in early 2009.
It is possible that other measures may also be identified as suitable for inclusion in the coming months and the document therefore doesn't include a definitive list of measures to be included in the Bill.
Many of the proposals have either been consulted on recently or are in the process of being consulted on eg. use of DNA/fingerprint data where a consultation was launched on Tuesday. Where that is the case, the document doesn't include full details other than to confirm the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill will be used to make the necessary changes.
One of the proposals is to make it a specific offence to introduce and/or use a personal communication device (including mobile phones) in prison.
It is also proposed to introduce a new offence for the possession of extreme pornographic material and increase the maximum penalty under existing laws for publishing such material.
It is proposed to expand the content of the Sexual Offences Prevention Orders to place greater responsibility on offenders to comply with certain conditions.