Cabinet Secretary for Justice
Kenny MacAskill
Scottish Parliament
June 7, 2007
It is appropriate that we debate the subject of sex offending at such an early juncture in the life of this new Parliament. It sends a clear message that the protection of the public is of the highest importance to Scotland's Government. I hope today's debate will signal that this is an area where the Parliament can come together and secure the broadest support on the way forward.
And I believe that we have an early opportunity to do so - by building on the strong foundations put in place under the previous Administration - by building on the cross-party agreement reached by the Justice 2 Committee on which I served - and by building on the common ground agreed at last week's meeting between the First Minister, myself and the Conservatives.
We believe that tackling the dangerous offender in our midst, is not the prerogative of one party but the duty of all - that solutions lie not just with government but must emanate from society as a whole.
That said we do have a direction in which we wish to travel and our policies will be subject to full and rigorous scrutiny.
But we recognise the work already done by the Justice Committee and by Professor Irving. That has laid the groundwork and there is no need to replace strong foundations already in place.
The context for today's debate is therefore that I want to build on these past achievements and to take them further.
I also want us to acknowledge where the problem lies -with a small but highly dangerous group of offenders. They are few but they are predatory, devious and dangerous.
More often than not operating within a trusting relationship - whether masquerading as a family member or friend and turning a place of safety into a place of abuse and harm. That remains a greater danger than a random attack by a stranger.
These hard facts emerged from the 4 major reviews held into sex offending in Scotland over the past 6 years. Hard facts which led each of them to much the same conclusions. Conclusions which have fashioned what we have done, what we are doing now and what more we will do in future to protect the public.
As a Parliament, we have legislated to tighten the granting of bail for sex offenders.
We have given our courts new powers - through the Order for Life Long Restriction - to impose a strict lifetime regime of supervision and monitoring on those posing the highest risk. And I will not hesitate to ask the Parliament to enhance these powers if needs be.
We have strengthened the operation of the sex offender notifications scheme, in line with the Irving report. As at 20 April this year, Scotland's 8 police forces incorporated a new warnings system for sex offenders into their standard operating procedures.
This sets decisions about disclosing identities in an overall plan for managing the risks posed by individual offenders and the need to protect children and communities. We will closely monitor how the new system beds in and operates. But notifications there can be and notifications there must be in some cases.
For the future we will also look to explore how the warnings scheme can be enhanced - for example on the 'traffic lights' model set out in our manifesto.
From April too, the new MAPPAs came into operation - providing the framework for the police, local authorities, the Scottish Prison Service to assess and manage the risk posed by sex offenders - ensuring proper structures and a consistent approach to managing offenders across agencies, throughout the country.
And ahead of the rest of the UK, our National Accommodation Strategy for Sex Offenders sets the framework for housing providers and criminal justice agencies to address the very difficult problems posed in finding safe accommodation in the community, together.
Already, new technology such as VISOR allows our police - and now criminal justice social work - to access comprehensive and up to date information on sex offenders across the UK - putting the sharing of appropriate information at the heart of our strategy.
And the Parole Board is using electronic tagging to tighten the licence conditions for some of the highest risk offenders when released from prison.
Detection methods have improved and conviction rates have risen.
We should not forget that most sex offenders comply with registration. However compliance alone is not a guarantee of non offending.
I will not forget that, despite the progress, there have been recent tragedies. Cases which show why we must remain ever vigilant.
To protect our communities, I am therefore sending a clear message to every sex offender in the land if they are given the right to be released they must take responsibility for their own actions.
For the few who fail to comply - we will crack down with the full force of the law. Those given rights have a consequent responsibility.
The previous Administration and the Justice Committee had already agreed that it was appropriate to publish photographs of missing sex offenders on the internet and elsewhere.
Today, I reaffirm that if a sex offender goes missing, and fails to comply, then the response will be tough. We will give the police and local Procurator Fiscal all the support and powers they need to track them down. And that includes, where appropriate and subject to the guidance of Police and Crown, publishing photos on the internet or elsewhere.
We will also review the systems and guidelines currently in place to ensure that suspects alleged to have committed sexual offences are effectively identified and apprehended as quickly as possible.
We will look - with our enforcement agencies - at the opportunities offered by new technology such as satellite tracking and polygraph tests - developments being trialled and tested elsewhere - to enhance public safety. They may offer opportunities but cannot guarantee absolute security. Only through perpetual vigilance on the part of individuals, government and the relevant agencies can we offer protection.
In closing, I want to recognise the distress caused by this most dreadful of crimes and to pay tribute to victims who have borne this burden with dignity. We owe it to them to work together for the common weal.
In doing so, Presiding Officer, I want to reaffirm our absolute determination to work within this Parliament or elsewhere to do everything that we can to keep Scotland safe and secure.