This week’s round-up

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Glasgow becomes role model for London

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan this week announced London would be taking inspiration from Scotland by setting up a violence reduction unit to tackle violence in the city.

Welcoming the news, Mr Yousaf said:

“It’s very positive news that London is to have its own Violence Reduction Unit, based on the Scottish model and the public health approach that has helped us to make significant reductions in violent crime.

“Of course, the job is not done in Scotland and we can still learn lessons from other areas, so we will follow the progress in London with interest. I wish all those involved the very best of luck with this new initiative.”

Backing second chances

Community Safety Minister Ash Denham met with staff from Street & Arrow to hear more about how Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit has made a difference to their lives.

Police Chief’s Brexit update

Humza Yousaf responded to an announcement by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) of plans to establish a safety net if access to EU security tools is lost. The Cabinet Secretary outlined why the UK Government must seek to protect acess to the current EU data sharing and corporation tools as part of any deal. The Cabinet Secretary spoke at Police Scotland’s Foreign Law Enforcement conference on Monday.

You can read more here

MSPs debate Scotland’s progress

The Minister for Community Safety opened a debate in the Parliament where MSPs discussed Scotland’s progress in reducing violence and the key issues for continuing work in this area. You can watch a video of the proceedings below:

 

 

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Justice Secretary comments on Police Chiefs’ Brexit update

Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf has responded to an announcement by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) of plans to establish a safety net if access to EU security tools is lost.

In a statement issued today (Tuesday September 18th, 2018) the NPCC said a new national unit will assist police forces to use alternatives if the UK loses access to current EU data sharing and cooperation tools, such as the European Arrest Warrant or Europol systems.  The NPCC said that the contingency plans, agreed Monday September 17 by all chief constables, will see UK law enforcement revert to use of international police tools through Interpol, bilateral channels and Council of Europe conventions to enable extradition of suspects, trace missing people and share intelligence about crime and terrorism.

Responding, Mr Yousaf said:

“This is a stark reminder of the hugely damaging impact Brexit could have on our security capabilities and why the UK Government must seek to protect access to the current EU data sharing and cooperation tools, like the European Arrest Warrant and Europol, as part of any deal.  It is evidence of the huge of amount of resource and effort needed by the police, and agencies across Scotland, to prepare for Brexit – made worse by the continued lack of clarity from the UK Government over even basic questions about our future security relationship. This Government has been clear that leaving the EU without a deal is neither desirable or acceptable. Not leaving would be best and the only alternative thereafter is continued membership of the Single Market and Customs Union which is essential for our economy, our society and the people of Scotland.”

In June, the Scottish Government published the Scotland’s Place in Europe: Security, Judicial Co-operation and Law Enforcement paper, detailing the impact of withdrawing from the EU’s cross-border security, law enforcement and criminal justice co-operation measures without putting effective substitute arrangements in place.

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The week in review

This week’s round-up includes the development of a comprehensive support service for families of homicide victims, the fifth annual performance review of the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, and a Parliamentary reception celebrating the contribution of Police Scotland Youth Volunteers to communities the length and breadth of Scotland.

MSPs explore Brexit impact on policing and justice system

Cabinet Secretary for Justice Humza Yousaf and Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC gave evidence to MSPs on Tuesday as the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee continued taking evidence on the potential implications of leaving the European Union for Scotland’s justice system and policing.

You can read the full transcript of the session on the Parliament’s Official Report, or watch the video of proceedings below.

Human Trafficking in the spotlight

Also on Tuesday a report by the Anti-Trafficking Monitoring Group highlighted Scotland’s victim-centred policies and strategic approach to child-trafficking. The following day the Justice Secretary addressed Police Scotland’s National Human Trafficking conference at the Police College, Tulliallan.  Delegates also heard how the national force’s specialist human trafficking unit is bringing a high level of expertise and investigative techniques to identify victims and perpetrators.  Later in the week Police Scotland released details of an operation, launched in Edinburgh and Glasgow on Friday, which resulted in the rescue of ten women and two arrests in connection with alleged human trafficking offences.

Fire & Rescue performance review

On Wednesday Minister for Community Safety Ash Denham chaired the fifth annual performance review of the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service.  Speaking ahead of the public event, in Dundee, Ms Denham said: “The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s continued commitment to prevention, protection and response has played an important part in the decrease in the total number of fires in Scotland over the last decade.”

Supporting families of homicide victims

The Justice Secretary this week met Lynn Burns, whose son Sam was murdered in Ayrshire in 2013, and Victim Support Scotland Chief Executive Kate Wallace to discuss the on-going development of a new comprehensive support service for the families of homicide victims in Scotland.  The service is part of a package of measures, building on reforms of recent years, to improve the experience of victims and witnesses through the justice system. Lynn is closely involved in the design of the new homicide support service and spoke about it this week, in the video below.

Police Service Youth Volunteers

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Chief Contable Iain Livingstone were among those paying tribute to Police Scotland Youth Volunteers (PSYV) at a Parliamentary reception on Wednesday evening.  Mr Yousaf, who hosted the event, also played the role of David Dimbleby during a ‘Question Time’ session towards the end of the reception – highlighting the volunteers’ contribution to their communities, and further plans for the PSYV scheme.

You can watch a video of the event and find more information about the PSYV on their Facebook page – or read Assistant Chief Constable John Hawkins’ article in the Herald about the positive impact the service has been making right across Scotland in just its first four years.

Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland

The Justice Secretary and the Minister for Community have continued meetings, begun during summer recess, with key figures in Scotland’s justice system and other community safety and wider public sector partners. Among this week’s ministerial engagements was a joint meeting with Nicola Gordon, the chairing member of the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland (JABS).

The Board is an advisory non-departmental public body, established under the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008. It is responsible for making recommendations to Scottish Ministers for appointment to judicial office based on merit. You can find out more about the Board’s role on the recently re-designed JABS website.

 

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The week in review

Our weekly round-up is back with the return of the Scottish Parliament following the summer recess.

Victims at the heart of justice reforms

The highlight of the week has been the launch, by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, of the Programme for Government for the new 2018-19 Parliamentary year. As in previous years there was a strong justice reform agenda, both through legislation and wider policy initiatives and investment.

The PfG includes commitments to improve support for victims of crime – among them, developing new support services, giving more victims an opportunity to tell courts about the impact of crimes, improving information for victims and their families around prison release, and consulting on how to make the parole process more open and transparent.

Focus on rehabilitation paying off

Also on Tuesday, it emerged that reconviction rates in Scotland have fallen to a 19-year low, underpinning the importance of our investments in desistance and rehabilitation work – both in the community and in prison settings – to challenge and support people with convictions to turn away from offending behaviour and fulfil their potential in supporting their families and contributing to society.

Blue-light services go green

The First Minister had begun ‘PfG week’ with a visit to the Cambuslang headquarters of the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service, which is committed to reducing its carbon footprint with plans to introduce up to 100 ultra-low emission Plug-in vehicles.

Ms Sturgeon heard about the efforts of all of Scotland’s blue-light services to invest in more sustainable vehicle fleets, and announced £16.7 million additional Scottish Government funding to help transforming Scotland to a low carbon country.

Impact of miners strike policing on local communities

Also on Monday John Scott QC issued a call for anyone affected by the policing of the 1984-85 miners strike to submit evidence to the independent review on the subject, which was announced in June by the then Justice Secretary Michael Matheson.

Submissions can be made up until November 30th, including through an online portal.  For further information about the review, visit the dedicated webpage.

Minister meets ‘Fearless’ ambassadors

On Tuesday morning Minister for Community Safety Ash Denham joined Crimestoppers Scotland to meet the latest ‘Fearless ambassadors’ – school pupils who are promoting the Fearless programme which aims to empower young people to access information and advice about crime and criminality and to help keep themselves and their friends safe.

Building resilience and a Fairer Scotland in the face of childhood adversity

A few hours after Tuesday’s PfG launch in the Parliament, Deputy First Minister John Swinney delivered the Apex Lecture, where he outlined the Scottish Government’s commitment to building a fairer Scotland and the critical role of understanding childhood adversity in the development of policy across the portfolios, including through our justice reforms.  Find out more about the connections between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), personal resilience and crime from a short summary PDF, recently prepared by Scottish Government analysts.

Scottish Police Memorial Service

On Wednesday the Justice Secretary addressed the gathering of the Scottish Police Memorial Service of Remembrance at Scotland’s Police College, Tulliallan. This was the 15th annual Scottish commemoration to honour those police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

‘Promising’ findings from problem-solving court pilot

Also this week the Community Safety Minister attended the launch of a research report into the ‘Aberdeen Problem-Solving Approach’, which aims to reduce the use of custodial sentences and cut re-offending by addressing underlying problems linked with persistent offending. Read on the University of Stirling website.

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Safer Communities & Justice Brief : August 2018

Scottish Government Justice Analytical Services have recently published the August edition of the Monthly Safer Communities and Justice Brief.

This brief provides, in a single place, a concise but comprehensive overview of all the most important Justice and Safer Communities statistics.

The brief includes a special feature on its back page, with this month’s article from the recently published report entitled “Community Experiences of Serious Organised Crime”

A copy of the brief has been placed on the Crime and Justice Statistics section of the Scottish Government website.

Any suggestions for improvement or for other aspects to cover in the brief would be very welcome and should be addressed to JusticeAnalysts@gov.scot.

 

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