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SCOTLAND'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE PLAN
Overview and Executive Summary
16. The structure of the Criminal Justice Plan is based on the sequence of interventions made to deal with offending. Chapter One covers crime prevention and the protection of communities. Chapter Two deals specifically with the issue of drugs. The third chapter covers the reform of Scotland's courts and related improvements in support for victims and witnesses. Chapter Four examines the different sentences available to courts and includes proposals on Home Detention Curfew. Chapter Five considers how the justice services could work more effectively to rehabilitate offenders once they have been sentenced.
17. Each chapter begins by reflecting on the devolved Scottish government's recent achievements, before setting out plans for the next phase.
Protecting communities and preventing crime
Key actions - Increased funding leading to record numbers of police officers and police support staff.
- Lowest level of recorded crimes in almost quarter of a century along with the highest level of police clear up rates.
- Establishing the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (SDEA) and planning to bring it together with other key law enforcement agencies in a new law enforcement campus.
- Introducing the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004.
- Strengthening the law providing protection to children from predatory sex offenders who seek to use the internet to facilitate the commission of sexual offences and protecting girls from the practice of female genital mutilation.
- Funded the establishment of Community Safety Partnerships in all 32 local authority areas in Scotland to form Community Safety Partnerships.
- Invested 20m to establish Community Wardens schemes across Scotland.
- Established a Community Regeneration Fund (104m/106/108 for the period 2005-06 to 2007-08) to improve Scotland's most deprived areas and help individuals and families escape poverty.
- Introducing new powers in the Emergency Workers Bill to penalise anyone who assaults, hinders or obstructs an emergency worker in responding to an emergency.
In the future we will - Legislate to support the work done by the police, criminal justice social work and the Scottish Prison Service in assessing and managing the risk from sex offenders and fund specialised training for 400 frontline police and social workers in assessing the risk which individual sex offenders pose to communities.
- Consider whether there should be an end to automatic early release for all prisoners convicted of sex offences.
- Review the operation of Scotland's sex offender registration scheme.
- Implement a five point plan of action to tackle the impact of knife crime across Scotland including introducing a licensing scheme on the sale of non-domestic knives and doubling the sentence for possession of a knife or offensive weapon from 2 years to 4 years.
- Improve the standard of service to victims and witnesses in cases involving sex offences, and deliver comprehensive guidance and training to prosecution staff engaged in such work.
- Publish a Plan for Action on Alcohol problems to tackle the causes and consequences of harmful binge drinking within Scottish society.
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18. We know that an important element of reducing crime is reducing exclusion and supporting families and children at risk. Effective strategies for community regeneration and involvement are also crucial. We are therefore committed through our Closing the Opportunity Gap (CtOG) approach to working across all Departments and portfolios to:
- Prevent individuals or families from falling into poverty;
- Provide routes out of poverty for individuals and families; and
- Sustain individuals or families in a lifestyle free from poverty
19. This will involve concentrating on measures to increase the chances of sustained employment for vulnerable and disadvantaged groups; improving the confidence and skills of the most disadvantaged children and young people; reducing the vulnerability of low income families to financial exclusion and multiple debts; regenerating the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods; increasing the rate of improvement of the health of people living in the most deprived areas; and improving access to high quality services for the most disadvantaged groups and individuals in rural communities. We are setting a small number of CtOG targets that will drive delivery and focus resources on action to meet these objectives.
20. We know that many people today do not feel safe enough in their homes or on the streets. If their daily experience is of graffiti, vandalism and disorder, they may find it hard to accept that serious, violent crime remains relatively rare. We are determined to tackle minor crime which undermines our quality of life, not just because communities should not have to suffer such behaviour but because we know that if we intervene early enough it is more likely that we will succeed in stopping the cycle of offending before it escalates to more serious offences.
21. That is why tackling antisocial behaviour is vital in improving the daily life of our communities.
22. Communities rightly look to the police service to prevent and detect crime and to provide reassurance. We have invested unprecedented resources in Scotland's police forces to provide record levels of police officers. This investment is paying dividends. Scotland's police have been more successful than ever before in detecting and clearing up crime. By working more efficiently, using new technology and modern working methods the police service can improve further, both to tackle head on the serious and organised criminal gangs who underpin the drug trade, and to offer visible and tangible reassurance to people in their neighbourhoods.
23. Protecting the public also means ensuring that our laws are fit for the 21st century. Crimes motivated by prejudice and discrimination have no place in Scotland. Scottish Ministers will consider carefully the report of the Working Group on Hate Crime. We have already legislated to protect religious groups and will now consider extending protection to others who may suffer disproportionately from victimisation. We will also take steps to protect those who cannot protect themselves, particularly children, by introducing legislation to tackle predatory sexual offenders and the unacceptable practice of female genital mutilation. We will also push forward with our three year child protection reform programme.
Tackling drugs in our communities Key Actions - Legislation to strip drug dealers and their associates of assets gained through their criminal activities.
- Built a framework of criminal justice treatment interventions which reflects the direct correlation between the seriousness of offences and the severity of drug misuse.
- Expanded treatment and care by investing an additional 34m over the three years to 2003/4; expanded residential services by 33% and non-residential services by 41% since 1999; and invested 9.5m in training and employment programmes to assist drug misusers return to a drug-free life-style.
- Established 'Know the Score' and worked through Scotland Against Drugs to train staff in schools on drug issues.
- Implementing a comprehensive action plan on 'Hidden Harm' to protect the children of drug misusing parents.
In the future we will - Use the criminal assets recovered from drug dealers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to visibly strengthen and repair those communities hardest hit by drug dealing and violent crime.
- Work with CRIMESTOPPERS on a national initiative encouraging local communities to 'SHOP-A-DEALER' to help communities become stronger.
- Invest a further 6m per annum in treatment services on top of the extra 2m announced for 2004-05.
- Make Drug Treatment and Testing Orders available throughout Scotland by funding the roll out to remaining courts by June 2005.
- Evaluate and act upon the lessons learned from the first two years of arrest referral schemes in Scotland.
- Complete the Glasgow and Fife drug court pilots in spring 2005 and make recommendations.
- Consider providing access to drug treatment as a condition of bail.
- Implement the comprehensive range of actions within the Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Review.
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24. Many communities in Scotland are ravaged by the effects of drugs. The effects of drug misuse can be devastating for individuals, families, particularly children within those families, and the communities in which they live. Drugs related offending ranges from the actions of an individual user, driven to commit crime to feed their habit, to the destructive impact of highly organised gangs. By tackling drug misuse, Scottish Ministers will take a significant step forward in ensuring public safety and reducing reoffending. Action against illegal drug misuse is an essential element of criminal justice reform.
Reform of Scotland's Courts Key Actions - Implementing the Vulnerable Witness (Scotland) Act 2004.
- Protected victims of sexual offences from intrusive questioning in court by preventing the accused from conducting his own defence.
- Reduced stress for child and adult vulnerable witnesses by removing the need for dock identifications and published the Child Witness Support Guidance Pack.
- Extended the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) Victim Information and Advice Service to all 11 Procurator Fiscal areas.
- Supported the integration of criminal justice information system through the ISCJIS project so that IT can be fully exploited in improving case handling and management information.
- Implementing measure to improve operation of the High Court through the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 2004.
- Established the National Criminal Justice System Board concerned with efficiency issues at national level, piloted two local criminal justice boards and commenced a roll-out of local boards across Scotland to be completed by spring 2005.
In the future we will - Introduce reforms to make the courts work more efficiently to deliver faster, visible justice to confront offenders swiftly with the consequences of their actions.
- Introduce reforms to avoid unnecessary inconvenience for witnesses and others.
- Explore the potential for imposing a financial surcharge on all those convicted of an offence and using the sums raised to help the victims of crime.
- Build on the developments of the drugs and youth courts and evaluate domestic abuse courts.
- Ensure the continuation of work already begun to ensure effective support for victims and witnesses by piloting vulnerable witness officers before considering how best to develop a national service and publish and monitor national standards of service for victims.
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25. The police, prosecution service and courts must work together to bring offenders to justice in a timely and effective manner. These services rely on the co-operation of the general public as witnesses and jurors. They owe it to those who have become victims through no fault of their own to ensure that justice is done and seen to be done. We are committed to a criminal justice system that fully supports victims and witnesses.
26. Justice delayed potentially increases the risk of reoffending and prolongs the anguish for victims and witnesses. It is therefore essential that agencies provide a prompt and effective response to offenders, to make a clear link between crime and punishment and allow the public to have confidence that justice is quick and effective.
27. The devolved Scottish government has invested heavily over the past five years in giving the courts and the prosecution service the extra resources they need. This investment has been matched by reform, including radical legislation to free up time in the High Court and tackle the culture of delay. New arrangements have been put in place to improve joint working between the police forces, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Court Service and other key bodies locally and nationally. Alongside that, and supported by Executive investment, we have increased the number of High Court judges to 34 - the highest ever number of judges in our history.
28. But there is still much more to do. Although we have also provided resources for the largest number of sheriffs ever, the lower courts remain under pressure. The agenda for summary justice is ambitious and involves looking fundamentally at how we organise our courts and how cases should pass through the system. Communities as well as individuals are the victims of less serious crime. Where offences are not serious in themselves the cumulative impact of persistent minor offences undermines public confidence in justice. In some situations robust alternatives to prosecution that deter offenders or address the causes of their offending behaviour will be appropriate. But for cases that are brought to court, speed and efficiency must be at the heart of our summary justice system. And we must have in place a range of sentencing options geared to offenders putting something back into the very communities against which they have offended.
29. We have introduced specialist drug and youth courts. And we have increased the range of community sentences to give sentencers a fuller range of options. These developments have built on what was already there. But there is a more fundamental problem, of transparency, effectiveness and consistency in our sentencing framework. We have set up a judicially led Sentencing Commission which will undertake a root and branch review. The Commission will look at early release from custody, including the issue of the periods actually served, whether release should be automatic or discretionary, and what should happen after release. It will consider the best use of the fine and it will study the whole issue of consistency. We have asked the Sentencing Commission to begin by examining the best use of bail and remand, recognising that inconsistencies in this area are a matter of public concern. The overall aim is a framework that is fair, easy for the public to understand, and effective in reducing the likelihood of reoffending.
Effective interventions and sentences which fit the crime Key Actions - Legislated to extend electronic monitoring to offenders under 16 years of age.
- Extended the range of community disposals available to courts and invested significant additional resources in criminal justice social work services from 44m in 2000-01 to 88m in 2005-06.
- Established Multi-Agency Youth Justice teams in every Local Authority area and introduced national standards for youth justice.
- Piloted the youth court to fast track offenders into court; rolled out Restriction of Liberty Orders across Scotland and are piloting Community Reparation Orders.
- Set up 218 (Time Out) Centre in Glasgow to develop a new approach to working with women offenders.
- Funded arrest referral schemes in six areas and promoted the further use of electronic monitoring as a condition of probation and drug treatment and testing orders.
- Improved prison conditions by completing the refurbishment of HMP Barlinnie and building two 'fit for purpose' halls at HMP Edinburgh and HMYOI Polmont.
In the future we will - Legislate to provide powers for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to recover sums paid by the CICA to victims of crime from the perpetrators.
- Legislate to provide for Home Detention Curfew.
- Provide 7 new or completely rebuilt prisons in the decade from 1999. Current investment is running at 1.5m per week.
- Consult on options for suspended sentences next year.
- Pilot structured deferred sentences and consider experience in England and other parts of the world to see whether intermittent custody should be introduced into Scotland.
- Conclude the Children's Hearings Review early in 2005 to build a service fit for Scotland's future and focussed on positive outcomes for children.
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30. While the serious crime rate is not rising, Scotland's prison population has reached record levels. 4 At the same time the use of community sentences has also increased.
31. But it is not clear that the increased prison numbers or the increased number of community sentences has had a proportionate impact on rates of reoffending. More is needed. Serious crimes will always deserve serious sentences. But short term sentences, while not a driver of the increasing prison population, cause unnecessary churn in the system and clog up establishments with prisoners with whom little can be done by way of rehabilitation. They disrupt the offender's community links and undermine those very factors - family, work and housing - that are most important in rehabilitation. And short term prisoners are released into the community with no adequate follow up to build on any work done on their offending in custody or monitoring of their subsequent behaviour.
32. Imprisonment will always be appropriate in some cases. But where short prison sentences do little or nothing for rehabilitation we want to explore ways of minimising their counterproductive effects. Our throughcare strategy will take us part of the way, and in the longer term we look to the Sentencing Commission for legislative answers; but we need to do more now.
33. This document therefore sets out our proposals for a Home Detention Curfew scheme which will allow for a more gradual reintegration into the community, with a period of electronic monitoring. Scottish Ministers also intend to consult on the introduction of suspended sentences which would enable sentencers to impose as an option restorative conditions instead of immediate custody, in suitable cases. We will study with interest experiments in intermittent custody in England, as well as similar practices in other jurisdictions.
34. It is however in the effective implementation of the sentences imposed by the court that most change is now needed. It is not to criticise the dedicated professionals who work in these services but to recognise, as our recent consultation on reducing reoffending showed, that joint working and a shared sense of purpose are missing. A step change in integrated working is needed to reduce our unacceptably high reconviction rates and support offenders to lead law abiding lives.
Integrated services for managing offenders Key Actions - Established the Risk Management Authority as a national centre of excellence in the field of risk assessment and risk management of offenders.
- Tightened the legislation on sexual offending and introduced more robust procedures to ensure the judiciary has better information when sentencing sexual offenders.
- Introduced a new throughcare strategy to improve the system of community support for prisoners when they are released.
- Introduced LINKS centres to help prisoners prepare for their release at nine prison establishments with plans for the rest.
In the future we will - Introduce a National Offender Management Advisory Body, chaired by the Minister for Justice to advise on national strategy for offender management and to ensure a clear, shared focus on reducing reoffending
- Legislate to introduce a new statutory framework to place the Scottish Prison Service and Local Authorities under specific new obligations to work closely together to manage offenders seamlessly and reduce re-offending
- Legislate to bring groups of local authorities together in new joint Community Justice Authorities, responsible for ensuring the consistent and effective delivery of criminal justice social work across the area.
- Require the Scottish Prison Service and the Community Justice Authority to prepare and deliver an area offender management plan to reduce reoffending.
- Legislate to support the work done by the police, criminal justice social work and the Scottish Prison Service, assisted by a range of other agencies, in assessing and managing the risk from sex offenders and to support better systems for sharing information.
- Reform the SPS framework of governances to improve transparency and accountability.
- Merge the Community Justice and SPS Accreditation panels in spring 2005 to promote consistency in programmes for offenders in prisons and the community.
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35. Too many offenders end up in a constant cycle of offending, court appearance, sentence, release and reoffending. We are determined to break this cycle. This Criminal Justice Plan sets out proposals for better integration of services for managing sentenced offenders. We will invest in prisons to ensure that they can do their job of confronting and tackling offending behaviour more effectively. Offenders must do serious time for serious crime but they must also be made to face up to the consequences of their offending for victims, for themselves and their families and for society generally, if they are to be safe to release. This means that high quality intervention and rehabilitation programmes must be offered in prison and these must be matched by programmes of similar quality in the community so that offenders experience consistency before and after release. By setting up joint accreditation arrangements we intend to improve the quality and effectiveness of our rehabilitation programmes, whether in custody or community. These programmes are not soft options, but smart options that are already making a difference, but again there is more to do.
36. The results of the consultation 'Reduce, Rehabilitate, Reform' 5 showed that we need a more coherent, integrated approach to offender management. As well as improving what happens in custody and how the transition back to the community is handled, we also have to raise the quality of supervision in the community, balancing punishment and rehabilitation. We need more effective transitions from custody to community focussing on what we know is effective in helping an offender stop a life of crime. Access to jobs or training, treatment for addictions, housing, family support, and making individuals face up to their responsibilities must be part of any programme of offender management.
37. At present links are too weak between the Prison Service, Community Justice Services within local authorities, other criminal justice agencies and the voluntary sector, meaning that an opportunity to tackle the offending behaviour of an individual can be lost. It is clear that action must be taken to ensure these agencies work in partnership more consistently and effectively. There is room not only for better collaborative working between local authority social work services and the Scottish Prison Service, but also to include the police, the voluntary sector and other key agencies working in partnership together more effectively at local level to reduce reoffending. In Chapter 5 we set out a new framework for offender management at national and local level.
How we will deliver this programme
38. Extra resources of 6m in 2006-07 and 12m in 2007-08 have been put in place to support the modernisation and reform of the criminal justice system, in particular, reducing reoffending and court reform.
39. However this is not just about money. We are committed not only to innovative proposals, but to a new approach to taking forward reform. In moving forward from consultation to implementation we are committed to practical, deliverable change by involving throughout those who will have to make it work. This partnership approach has served us well to date, with the High Court reform as a good example of change designed through joint working and dependent on joint working to succeed. We want to take front line staff and practitioners with us, and to give them a role in change from the beginning.
40. We also need to check continually with those whom we particularly want to support - victims and witnesses in particular - that our programmes actually deliver what they want and need. The extensive programme of action round the Scottish Strategy for Victims - which includes changes introduced through legislation, but also a whole range of measures to support and involve victims, allowing their voices to be heard - is an example of how we have sought to develop that approach.
Conclusion
41. The Criminal Justice Plan sets out our vision for the criminal justice system in Scotland - a vision with justice and safer, stronger communities at its heart and united round a common mission to reduce reoffending. By taking forward the reforms set out here, we will ensure Scotland in the 21st century has a firm but fair criminal justice system that is worthy of the public's confidence and support. |
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