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Building a Better Scotland
JUSTICE
To create safer and stronger communities
Objective 1 | | Targeting the causes of crime, and tackling crime directly, especially violent crime. |
Target | 1 | To continue to increase the police clear-up rate for serious violent crime. Desired level of improvement to be discussed with police forces. |
Target | 2 | An increase in the number of criminal networks disrupted (the number to be set in consultation with law enforcement agencies). |
Target | 3 | A 10% reduction in the number of persistent young offenders by March 2008. |
Target | 4 | A 10% increase in the number of drug misusers entering treatment by March 2008. |
Objective 2 | | Reducing re-offending. |
Target | 5 | A 2% reduction in reconviction rates in all types of sentence by March 2008. |
Objective 3 | | Modernising the courts and legal system. |
Target | 6 | A 10% reduction in High Court trial adjournments by March 2008 in partnership with Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service. |
Target | 7 | 60% of Sheriff Summary and District Court cases to be disposed within 26 weeks of the date of caution and charge by March 2008 in partnership with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. |
What we will do
The Justice portfolio has responsibility for police, fire, community justice services, criminal justice policy, civil law matters and administrative support to the Supreme and Sheriff Courts. The Scottish Prison Service, Scottish Court Service and the Accountant in Bankruptcy are Executive agencies of the portfolio.
The aim of the Justice portfolio is to create safer and stronger communities and in doing so we are committed to contributing to growing the economy, to promoting equality and closing the opportunity gap, and to ensuring that our activities are sustainable.
Over the Spending Review period we intend to continue to focus on reducing crime, particularly violent and drug related crime and reducing re-offending. We will deal swiftly and effectively with those who commit crime and secure a criminal justice system that fully supports victims and witnesses. We will continue to modernise the law and legal system to make it fairer and faster.
That is why in 2006-07 and 2007-08 we will:
- make available an additional 56/109m for the police service in Scotland, to cover pay and pension increases, to allow for additional recruitment to offset a peak in officer retirements around 2009-2010, to maintain record levels of police officers, and to provide additional counter-terrorism measures;
- provide the Scottish Prison Service with an additional 75/106m for two new prisons, further modernisation of the prisons estate and delivering 500 additional prisoner places to tackle overcrowding and "slopping out";
- allocate a further 10/16.5m for legal aid, ensuring appropriate access to justice;
- invest in measures to help re-integrate prisoners at the end of their sentence while safeguarding the community;
- invest resources to support reform of the Criminal Justice service - to improve the management of sentenced offenders and how we build and deliver effective community sentences and reform the courts. Objectives are a significant reduction in re-offending, and a speedier and more efficient court system;
- make available 5/6m to allow the sheriff courts to be able to deal with increasing numbers of cases, especially solemn cases, and to support innovative drug and youth courts;
- provide additional investment for increased community based drug rehabilitation;
- allocate a further 6/15m for pay, pension and modernisation costs in the fire service;
- invest a further 1/1m to enhance the fire service's response in Scotland to the increased threat from global terrorism;
- provide a further 1/2m for judicial pay and to increase the judicial complement;
- establish a Human Rights Commission in Scotland (1/1m);
- ensure all young offenders get a "right place, right time" intervention that tackles offending behaviour and reduces by 10 per cent the number of persistent offenders plaguing communities across Scotland; and
- roll forward and continue investment in the Youth Crime Prevention Fund and Intensive Support Fund until 2007-08.
Our plans to reduce re-offending are a key component in our long term criminal justice strategy. The investment we will make for reform of the Criminal Justice system will allow us to invest now to secure significant savings in the long term, and deliver greater protection for our communities from crime and fear of crime.
We will also ensure that we secure the best possible value for money over the Spending Review period. As part of the Efficient Government initiative, we will redirect resources to frontline services. Our detailed actions will be included in the Executive's Efficient Government plan to be published this autumn.
Table 3.01 Spending plans 2004-08 (level 2)
m | 2004-05 Plans | 2005-06 Plans | 2006-07 Plans | 2007-08 Plans |
Criminal injuries compensation | 28.48 | 28.48 | 28.48 | 28.48 |
Community justice services | 86.31 | 92.86 | 100.96 | 103.06 |
Fire central government | 6.94 | 6.93 | 6.93 | 6.93 |
Legal aid | 148.51 | 151.86 | 161.86 | 168.36 |
Miscellaneous | 22.80 | 23.27 | 25.05 | 25.68 |
Scottish Prison Service | 298.48 | 321.70 | 396.70 | 427.70 |
Scottish Court Service | 71.83 | 70.89 | 75.89 | 76.89 |
Courts Group | 36.69 | 39.46 | 40.56 | 41.76 |
Accountant in Bankruptcy | 4.97 | 5.61 | 7.41 | 6.61 |
Police central government | 99.63 | 109.41 | 117.51 | 115.01 |
Reducing re-offending and court reform | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 | 12.00 |
Total | 804.64 | 850.47 | 967.35 | 1,012.48 |
Civil defence grant | 0.57 | 0.57 | 0.57 | 0.57 |
Police grant (1) | 461.10 | 492.83 | 514.05 | 541.42 |
Police LA capital | 31.41 | 31.41 | 31.41 | 31.41 |
Fire LA capital | 23.60 | 23.60 | 24.60 | 24.60 |
Total Justice support to local authorities | 516.68 | 548.41 | 570.63 | 598.00 |
District courts | 4.78 | 4.78 | 4.78 | 4.78 |
Police GAE (1) | 938.95 | 1,003.55 | 1,045.20 | 1,098.93 |
Fire GAE (2) | 262.51 | 276.51 | 282.02 | 291.53 |
(1) Police Grant, which forms part of the Justice budget, is derived from Police GAE - which is accounted for in the Local Government Spending Plans table.
(2) Fire GAE for 2004-05 and 2005-06 has been increased by 15m in each year to fund the fire service pay and modernisation agreement. This funding was previously held centrally.
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