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Supporting Police, Protecting Communities: Proposals for Legislation

Ministerial Foreword

In December 2004, I launched Supporting Safer, Stronger Communities: Scotland’s Criminal Justice Plan. The ambitious and wide-ranging programme in that document was united by a common purpose – to reduce re-offending and so tackle the cycle of repeat offending which accounts for so much of the misery caused by crime. The document also shows how Scotland is set upon the most radical reform of its criminal justice system for more than a generation.

As part of that reform programme, we plan to bring forward legislation at a suitable opportunity to make changes that will impact on the Scottish Police Service and on community safety.

Scotland has a first class police service. We have invested in record numbers of police officers and a range of police technology. But giving the police the tools to do the job is not just about resources. We also need to keep the legislation fit for purpose. In a speech to Parliament in September 2004, the First Minister pledged to consult on a new Scottish Police Bill to do just that.

We will therefore bring forward legislation to strengthen and improve policing and law enforcement in Scotland. A number of these reforms will strengthen how we deal with serious and organised crime. Others will address how we deal with violent crime and sectarianism. Some specifically focus on helping the police work more efficiently. I believe that all will be of real and substantial benefit to the police and, through them, our communities.

In particular, this legislation progresses the commitments in A Partnership for a Better Scotland to:

• continue to expand the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency;
• review the law and enforcement on knife crimes;
• improve the efficiency of police forces by providing more common support services, while enhancing community accountability for policing through local police boards; and
• set up an independent police complaints body.

We have already consulted on a number of the issues covered in this paper. Where we have consulted before, we now set out specific plans. In other areas, however, our proposals are set out in detail for the first time. We now want to hear what you think and I invite you to respond to help us take forward these vital reforms.

CATHY JAMIESON MSP
Minister for Justice

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