A Safer Scotland: Tackling Crime and its Causes

Section 5: Building public confidence

Offenders cannot be convicted unless victims report crimes and witnesses are prepared to give evidence in court. The system needs to work for all those affected, either directly or indirectly, by crime: victims need to be sure that they will be treated fairly and sensitively and witnesses may have particular concerns for their own safety. Members of the public who give their time for jury service also deserve proper information and support. The Government have made progress too in building the confidence that women have in the system.

Victim Steering Group

1. The Victim Steering Group provides a forum for the strategic discussion of issues of relevance to the interests of victims and to advise on policy and good practice. The group is chaired by The Scottish Office and includes representatives from the Scottish Court Service, the Crown Office, the Sheriffs' Association, the police, social work services, Victim Support Scotland and the Law Society.

Support for services to victims

2. The Government have a particular concern to ensure that victims of crime have access to an appropriate, effective and economically delivered advice and support service as required, particularly where victims are likely to be vulnerable for any reason. The importance of raising awareness of victims' issues within the criminal justice system and among the general public is also recognised.

Victim Support Scotland (VSS)

The Scottish Office is the major funder of Victim Support Scotland, a voluntary organisation whose trained volunteers provide confidential support, practical help and information to victims of crime. Funding has risen from £600 in 1984-85 to £1.5 million in 1998-99 and reflects the government's policy to improve services to victims and increase awareness of victims issues.

By the end of 1999 VSS will have reorganised its local branch structure from 77 to 32 in line with local authority boundaries. This will facilitate access to their services and maximise the benefits derived from key partnerships with the police, social work and housing.

3. Victim Support Scotland (VSS) plays a valuable role in meeting these objectives, through the significant contribution of its volunteers and paid staff both in helping victims of crime directly and in raising awareness of victims' interests. The Government have recognised that commitment in increased funding for VSS. Others too have recognised the importance of VSS's role and so they are also supported by local authorities, business sponsorship and of course the fundraising efforts of dedicated volunteers. A review of the central government arrangements for VSS as well as for other voluntary organisations is underway. The Government remain concerned to ensure that funding for all such organisations makes the most effective use possible of public money in order to benefit their client groups.

Reporting a crime

4. It is fundamental to the whole criminal justice system that victims should report crimes. The Scottish Crime Survey shows that the discrepancy between the figures of recorded crime and the amount of crime experienced by victims is less marked than in some other jurisdictions. Nevertheless, with only half the crime experienced by victims reported to the police, the gap is still too wide. The Government are committed to improving the information and support available to victims/witnesses in the criminal justice system. As part of this effort it published the information leaflet Reporting A Crime: A guide for Victims and Witnesses. Prepared under the auspices of the Victim Steering Group, the leaflet is intended as a brief guide to help victims and witnesses understand the processes of the criminal justice system, and point to sources of help and support. It supplements existing information such as leaflets produced by the Crown Office for the use of witnesses, and leaflets available from Victim Support Scotland, and from the police. It is issued by the police, who are the first point of contact a victim/witness who reports a crime has with the criminal justice system. It is also available through Victim Support Scotland and Citizens Advice Bureaux.

Compensation for victims

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme operates to provide compensation to victims of violent crime. While ultimately no amount of financial compensation can make amends for the hurt, shock and stress caused by violent crime, the British scheme is by far the most generous in Europe. Around £30 million was paid to victims in Scotland in 1997.

Taking account of victims' views

5. It has been said that victims of crime have no voice in the criminal justice system. While criminal justice agencies increasingly recognise the need to provide support and assistance to victims of crime, it remains true that there are relatively few occasions on which the victim of crime has an opportunity to voice his or her views or experiences and have these taken into account. This is a complex area where there is conflicting evidence about the need of victims to provide information and the effect it has on them, as well as on how any such information from victims is best used in the criminal justice system. The Victim Steering Group has recognised the need to consider the place of victims' views and a working group with multi-agency membership has been established to consider how this issue should be taken forward. Under the auspices of this group a report, 'Taking Account Of Victims' Views in the Criminal Justice System: A Review of the Literature' has been commissioned by The Scottish Office and carried out by Professor Andrew Sanders of Bristol University. This review is being finalised and will be published this year. It will inform the thinking of the working group and contribute to wider debate.

Acting as a Witness

6. The Government recognise that acting as a witness, whether as the victim of crime or as a bystander witness, can be very stressful and have commissioned work to address this. The Procurator Fiscal Service and the Scottish Court Service participated in pilot witness support initiatives with Victim Support Scotland in Ayr, Hamilton and Kirkcaldy. The three initiatives were evaluated to assess their effectiveness in meeting the needs of witnesses for guidance and support. The research (published in 1998) found that witnesses valued the support they were given and felt it helped them face the prospect of giving evidence. The future of such schemes is the subject of consultation in the report Towards a Just Conclusion - Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses in Scottish Criminal and Civil Cases described below.

7. Some witnesses, particularly in very serious cases, experience actual intimidation from those associated with the accused. The Strathclyde Police Witness Protection Scheme was established to assist such witnesses and was, again, evaluated. That study demonstrated that carefully focused and targeted support and protection for intimidated witnesses can lead to the provision of crucial evidence which they might not otherwise have given.

8. Other witnesses, while not being subject to intimidation, may feel anxious about meeting the accused or people associated with them at court. Possible meetings in public areas can never be wholly avoided, but separate waiting rooms for Crown and defence witnesses are now provided in all sheriff courts.

9. With these and other initiatives, the Government have sought to use research to assess the effectiveness of new measures to ease the burden on victims and witnesses and the new Research Programme contains suggestions for other areas which might take this work forward.

The Joint Statement on Crown Witnesses sets out the shared responsibilities of the Crown Office and the Scottish Courts Service: To be particularly responsive to the needs of vulnerable witnesses. To respond to requests for information about case progress and disposal. To advise witnesses at court at least once every two hours of the progress of their cases. To ensure that witnesses at court who are no longer required to give evidence are released as soon as possible and provided with an explanation for their release.

Joint Crown Office/SCS Statement on Witnesses

10. In January 1998 the Crown Office and the Scottish Court Service (SCS) launched a Joint Statement on Crown Witnesses. The Statement sets out the shared and individual responsibilities of prosecutors and clerks of court in relation to witnesses cited by the Crown to trials in the High Court and Sheriff Court.

Vulnerable and intimidated witnesses

11. The Government set up a Scottish Office-led Working Group to review the procedures within the criminal justice system as they affect vulnerable and intimidated witnesses. The Working Group consisted of representatives of the Scottish Office Home Department, the Scottish Court Service, the Crown Office, Victim Support Scotland, and the police service. Its report, Towards a Just Conclusion - Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses in Scottish Criminal and Civil Cases was published as a consultation paper on 2 November 1998.

Child Witnesses and victims

12. In March 1998 the Lord Advocate publicly launched new booklets published by the Crown Office for child witnesses _ entitled Going to Court as a Witness? These booklets were the latest in a series of initiatives designed to reduce the stress on child witnesses. Their purpose is to explain, in simple terms, what is involved in being a witness and hence reduce the concern which can arise from a fear of the unknown. The booklets took account of changes in relation to the taking of evidence from children, most notably the option of a live video link with the child. Views were canvassed from prosecutors, defence solicitors, the police, social workers, psychologists and, most importantly, research was conducted in schools to find out what children themselves thought of the proposals. Two booklets have been published, one for children under 12, and a more detailed one for children over 12.

13. The Lord Advocate's Working Group on Support for Child Witnesses will report on its findings in the near future. This Group was established to consider the arrangements to support children affected by child protection or criminal proceedings and to identify necessary improvements; to design, implement and evaluate a pilot initiative; and to formulate proposals to disseminate good practice on a national basis. The Group brought together representatives from all the relevant agencies in Glasgow and was supported throughout by research.

14. There is also scope for greater recognition to be given to victims' interests where children offend. For example, on a limited scale, Victim Support Scotland has undertaken sessions with those persistent offenders attending the Freagarrach project. On occasion, direct meetings between the victim and the child offender have been arranged as part of a structured programme to help the child address the offending behaviour. More could be done in this area: such initiatives need not be resource intensive. Family Group Conferencing and mediation can also supplement these activities as well as providing a specific response to a need in their own right.

Jurors

15. Following research involving people who have served on juries, and potential jurors, the Scottish Court Service (SCS) has produced revised information booklets for jurors in the High Court and Sheriff Courts. The booklets explain how jurors are selected, what happens in court and the meaning of the three Scottish verdicts. They also provide advice on how to get to court together with a location map and information about the facilities available at court. For jurors who may have been badly affected by the evidence given in very serious cases, the SCS has arranged to make available counselling services from NHS consultants around Scotland.

Protecting women

A Safer Way

16. In December 1997 the Government commissioned a joint review by the Chief Inspectors of Prisons and of Social Work of the use of custody and community disposals for women offenders in Scotland. It followed the apparent suicide of 7 young women held in Cornton Vale prison over a period of 30 months. They published their report A Safer Way last May. They found that no single reason emerged to account for the concentration of suicides although there was, in almost all cases, a common factor of drug abuse and withdrawal problems. The focus of the report's 7 recommendations was on offering more options in the community as the best means of reducing the number of women sent into custody on remand, direct sentence or for fine default. The report's conclusions are entirely consistent with the Government's general approach to the balance between community-based and prison-based options for the offending population as a whole within a strict policy of public protection.

17. In welcoming the report the Government indicated that it would be the catalyst for change in the way Scotland's criminal justice system deals with women. Measures being undertaken to act on the report include: the reshaping of Cornton Vale through more shared accommodation for inmates, improved and increased training of staff, a drug harm reduction strategy and possible expansion of other facilities in Inverness and Dumfries; a commitment to build on existing initiatives, such as Supervised Attendance Orders, for fine defaulters and the Turnaround Project (described below); a possible phased programme to end the use of prison for female offenders under the age of 18; Most importantly the Government has set up a project in Glasgow, under the direction of the new Inter Agency Forum on Female Offenders. The project will bring together all the main partners in the criminal justice system to tackle the issues raised in the report at a local level. By targeting action on the west of Scotland where most of the Cornton Vale population comes from, we believe that it will go a long way to addressing the issue for the whole of Scotland. The Forum is chaired by Professor Sheila McLean, Professor of the Law and Ethics of Medicine at Glasgow University. It is expected to be in place for three years.

Turnaround

18. An early initiative, following discussions between The Scottish Office and Glasgow City Council, in the light of suicides in Cornton Vale prison, was the establishment of the Turnaround Project in Glasgow. This initiative provides treatment services to women drug-misusers at all stages of the criminal justice process, from arrest through to sentence and also ensures throughcare in prison and after release. The main aims of the programme, which is funded through the 100% funding arrangements for criminal justice social work services, are to reduce the number of women drug users, help them stabilise or reduce their drug use and also reduce their offending behaviour.

Preventing Violence Against Women: A Scottish Office Action Plan

19. The Government have an international commitment to tackle violence against women and we have also declared that this is a national priority. A co-ordinated approach is being taken at UK level under the leadership of the Ministers for Women, and within that framework The Scottish Office has developed its own Action Plan. This was published as a consultative document by the Scottish Minister for Women's Issues, in November last year and the consultation period lasts until the end of February 1999.

A Working Party has been set up composed of officials and members of police forces nominated by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS). Its remit is: to develop and agree a standard definition of domestic violence which can form the basis of the statistical information collated by Scottish police forces and to develop the format of the information to be collected from forces.

20. The Action Plan contains 27 Action Points within the various areas of activity that will be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. It seeks to take stock of all the action currently under way and to set out the responsibilities of everyone involved. It also covers the availability of baseline information and the need for improved information to monitor progress.

21. Preventing Violence Against Women: A Strategy for Scotland was published in November 1998 as a consultation document. It sets out a draft strategy which will be refined in the light of responses received. The strategy must have the support of organisations representing the interests of women who have been, or may be, the victims of violence. The Women in Scotland Consultative Forum will therefore be fully involved in its further development.

Hitting Home

22. Hitting Home, the report of a thematic inspection by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary of all 8 forces' responses to domestic violence, was published in August 1997. The report indicates that repeat victimisation is high and that demand from victims for police services has increased in recent years. Nevertheless, there has been great improvement in liaison with local authority services and other agencies over the past 10 years and this report will help spread the existing good practices identified in a number of police forces.

Research

23. In October 1997, The Scottish Office commissioned research to map the provision of services for abused women and their children and seek to identify gaps. It also aimed to provide information about what The Scottish Office and others can do to fill these gaps. A report of this research - Service Provision to Women Experiencing Domestic Violence in Scotland - was published in March 1998.

The Scottish Partnership on Domestic Violence

24. A conference, organised jointly with the Health Education Board for Scotland, the Scottish Needs Assessment Project and COSLA, was held on 19 June 1998 at the Scottish Police College. The theme of the conference was how government and other agencies could work together to push forward the common agenda on domestic violence.

25. One outcome of the conference was the decision to set up a Scottish Partnership on Domestic Violence to ensure a multi-agency approach to the problem at national as well as local level. Membership of the Partnership includes representative organisations who are actively involved in dealing with various aspects of domestic violence. The Partnership has been asked to develop a strategy on domestic violence, minimum standards of service for victims and their children and a framework for monitoring progress. The first stage is for it to develop a detailed workplan and timetable and to report to the Minster for Women's issues by 31 March 1999.

Raising Awareness

26. While a good deal of progress has been made in raising awareness in Scotland in recent years, work continues in an effort to improve the way in which domestic violence is viewed. Having taken the advice of Scottish Women's Aid, Victim Support, the police, the Health Education Board for Scotland, the Scottish Prison Service and social work services on content, The Scottish Office launched a new publicity campaign at Christmas 1998, which will roll out over the next 3 years.

Fairness

Miscarriages of Justice

27. The Scottish legal system has always recognised the fundamental need to balance the rights of the state and the rights of the individual. The independent role of the Lord Advocate, and its procedures (in particular the long-standing requirement of Scots criminal law for the corroboration of evidence) limit the possibilities for miscarriages of justice to occur. However, they will occur occasionally even in the best of systems. The Government announced in June 1997 that it was in principle in favour of establishing an independent body to review alleged miscarriages of justice, as recommended by the Committee on Criminal Appeals and Miscarriages of Justice Procedures (the Sutherland Committee), which reported in June 1996. The Government aims to have the Commission in operation by 1 April this year.

28. The Commission will be independent from the Government. When operational, it will replace the role of the Secretary of State, who presently has power to refer cases to the Appeal Court where he believes that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred in a criminal conviction. When investigating cases the Commission will have power to undertake inquiries and obtain statements and reports itself, or to request the Lord Advocate or any other person to do so.

Prison conditions

29. In 1990, following the considerable unrest of the late 1980s, the Scottish Prison Service published Opportunity and Responsibility. This report dealt in the main with long term adult male prisoners, and led to the major changes seen in the Scottish penal system over the last 8 years. The changes meant moving from containment to dealing proactively with prisoners' underlying problems, and were based on the principle that prisoners should be given the opportunities for personal development, while being encouraged to accept responsibility for their actions.

71% of available accommodation currently has access to night sanitation. It is planned that slopping out will be ended by 2005.

30. SPS is now building on this work, and is currently developing policies to address prisoners with particular needs, such as young offenders and remand prisoners, in the same way that the policies of Opportunity and Responsibility addressed long term adult male prisoners.

European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

31. The Human Rights Act 1998 follows up the Government's Manifesto commitment to incorporate the ECHR into the domestic law of the United Kingdom. It will have a profound effect on all aspects of our law. Once that Act is brought into force, it will be unlawful for public authorities, including the police and the courts, to act in a way which is incompatible with the Convention rights. Under the Scotland Act it will be outwith the competence of the Scottish Parliament and Executive to exercise their powers in a way which is incompatible with the Convention. All courts and tribunals will be required to interpret legislation as far as possible in accordance with the Convention.

32. These provisions will make it possible for people, for the first time, to invoke their rights under the Convention in any proceedings, criminal or civil, brought against them by a public authority, or in proceedings which they may bring against a public authority. It will thus enable the people of Scotland to look to their own courts to enforce their rights under the European Convention rather than having to incur the cost and delay of taking a case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. This will enhance the awareness of human rights throughout our society, reflecting the importance the Government attaches to ensuring that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is at the heart of our criminal justice system.

33. The requirement to comply with the Convention rights will have very significant implications for the criminal justice agencies, in particular Courts, the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service. Early action has been taken to prepare the prosecution service for its anticipated implementation. The link with the devolution legislation is expected to result in an impact on the prosecution service soon after implementation of the Scotland Act. As a member of the Scottish Executive, the Lord Advocate will have to ensure that his prosecutorial functions are discharged in a manner which is compatible with Convention rights. Recognising this, the prosecution service is undertaking a review to ensure that, so far as possible, its policies and practices are compatible with Convention rights in all aspects of work. Appropriate judicial education and training is also planned.