Justice

"We believe that governments should be on the side of those who work hard, who do the right thing and try to get on in life. We believe that every woman and man in Scotland has a right to walk our streets in safety; that every young person has a right to live without fear of knife crime; that every family has a right to live free from intimidation in their own home; and that every community has the right to be supported in getting vandals, drug dealers and thugs off their streets.

"We can be immensely proud that Scotland’s justice system is admired the world-over for its foundation in fairness and compassion. But this compassion and fairness must extend beyond offenders. It must support victims and our communities as well.

"From ensuring that all of those convicted of carrying a knife go to jail, to demanding that offenders pay for their crimes by contributing to a Victims’ Fund, we will ensure that the rights, wellbeing and protection of victims and law-abiding people are at the heart of our justice system."

- Iain Gray, Scottish Labour Leader
 
Our promises to Scotland

• We will protect frontline police jobs and police numbers, with a community policing team in your area
• New mandatory minimum jail sentences for those carrying knives in Scotland
• Put victims first, through the creation of a Victims’ Commissioner, a Victims’ Fund and a new charter of Victims’ Rights
• Repeal dangerous plans to scrap the use of short prison sentences
• Deliver better services and cost efficiencies through the creation of a single police force and a single fire service for Scotland

 
Supporting frontline policing and firefighters
We understand that people want to see more police on the streets and are anxious to know if frontline services will be protected in uncertain times. Scottish Labour will not make here today, gone tomorrow promises on police numbers - but we will guarantee that there will be no cuts to police on the beat and we will protect frontline police jobs and police numbers.  We will also ensure that more police officers are out in communities, rather than stuck behind a desk. We are very clear – police officers should not be taken off the front line to cover the duties that should be carried out by police staff. We will ensure they can spend more time out on the beat – where they should be.

To increase administrative efficiencies and free up resources for the frontline, Scottish Labour will legislate to deliver a single police force for Scotland, with delegated authority and local accountability mechanisms. We will also deliver a single fire and rescue service, improving its performance and investing the savings in the frontline, so that we have the firefighters we need in our communities.


On the side of victims
Governments should be on the side of hard-working people, doing everything in their power to support families and individuals who do the right thing and want a decent life. Scottish Labour will therefore work to rebalance the justice system, giving greater focus to victims.

We will establish a Victims’ Fund, requiring convicted offenders in Scotland to pay a levy which will help fund victim support services. A new Victims’ Commissioner will champion a Charter of Victims’ Rights that will, as a minimum, ensure victims and witnesses are given a clearer understanding of legal processes before, during and after their time in court. We will also aim to change the rules, so that victims are able to give impact statements to parole boards before the release of an offender is considered.

To support the victims of domestic violence, Scottish Labour will enable police and prosecutors to provide better protection, by providing a more robust response to breached civil protection orders. We will also widen the scope of the Victim Notification Scheme, so that all victims of domestic violence are informed if an individual is about to be released from custody. The Glasgow domestic abuse court has been highly successful in bringing perpetrators of domestic abuse to justice. Scottish Labour aims to build on this success by encouraging similar approaches in other parts of the country. Following a scheme in Strathclyde that has seen over a hundred persistent, dangerous and violent offenders brought to justice in its first year of operation, Scottish Labour will also roll out specialist domestic abuse taskforces across Scotland, supported by specialist domestic abuse prosecutors. We will seek to maintain funding for existing services that aim to tackle violence against women.

Rape conviction rates in Scotland are shockingly low and remain amongst the worst in the western world. Scottish Labour will ensure a renewed focus on improving the treatment of victims of rape in the justice system, reviewing the sexual offences legislation, as well as tough action to increase conviction rates to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice. We believe that the time has come to consider the arguments for reforming the need for corroboration in rape cases and will consider the recommendations of the Carloway Review.

The sexual exploitation of children is a horrific form of abuse. Worryingly, the age of victims of sexual exploitation is dropping and with greater internet use, child exploitation is becoming increasingly organised. Scottish Labour will seek to commission research on the nature and scope of child sexual exploitation in Scotland and take the tough action required to stop those who prey on young people.  We will also pilot the use of GPS satellite tracking technology for serious sex offenders when they are released into the community.

Human trafficking amounts to modern - day slavery and with the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games just around the corner, there is a danger Scotland will see an increase in human trafficking. Scottish Labour will take tough action to root out this despicable crime and stop women in Scotland and those brought to this country being exploited. We are committed to cracking down on those who purchase sex and will build on the work done through the Criminalisation of the Purchase and Sale of Sex (Scotland) Bill.  We will also bring forward a detailed and robust licensing scheme for those premises in which lap-dancing takes place.  
 
Transparency in sentencing
Scottish Labour has listened to the concerns of knife crime campaigners and the tens of thousands of Scots who want the Government to crack down on knife criminals. We will take strong action and introduce mandatory minimum custodial sentences for knife crime in Scotland. We are very clear – if you carry a knife, you should go to jail. We will also work with the Scottish Sentencing Council to investigate whether to review the minimum sentence for knife murderers, as has been done in England and Wales.

For too long, victims, the public, lawyers and even the judiciary have said that they have little idea how long offenders will actually serve once they have been sentenced. Scottish Labour will deliver honesty and transparency in sentencing by working with the Scottish Sentencing Council to simplify the current complicated system of discounts.  We will also take steps to end the iniquity of unconditional automatic early release for offenders serving over two years in prison and repeal dangerous plans to scrap the use of prison sentences of less than three months. Consideration will be given to allowing information on offenders’ previous convictions to be cited in court.

We want to see asset confiscation become a standard part of sentencing. We will toughen up the proceeds of crime legislation to examine the possibility of building on the current practice in Ireland, where the burden of proof to show that funds have been acquired legitimately is placed on the accused.  We will also extend the right to seize offenders’ profits so that it includes assets like houses and cars.

We will institute an audit of Scots Criminal Law, ensuring that it is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, to avoid costly compensation claims and to ensure that the mistakes of the past will not happen again.

Tough action on anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour powers give communities the chance to fight back against vandalism, intimidation, noise and rowdy behaviour. Scottish Labour will introduce a five point plan that will give communities new powers to tackle nuisance behaviour.  Measures will include:

• getting ASBOs back on track, by giving community councils and residents’ groups a formal right to apply to councils for a fast-track ASBO;
• cracking down on problem neighbours by linking short-term tenancies to tenancy agreements, so that unacceptable behaviour can lead to eviction;
• introducing legislation requiring private landlords to act against anti-social residents;
• reclaiming public parks by rolling out ‘park ASBOs’;
• introducing Drink Banning Orders to curb alcohol-fuelled antisocial behaviour in problem cases.

Scottish Labour supports the system of community payback, which delivers visible, instant justice to low-level offenders on Scotland’s streets and promotes genuine project work to benefit communities. In moving forward, we want to get the Glasgow Community Court project back on track and pilot the right for local people to decide what project work should be carried out by offenders under community payback schemes in their area.

We believe that the third sector has a key role to play in providing one to one support for the difficult families that are often at the root of antisocial behaviour and we will work in partnership with them to deliver no-nonsense action.   

Making prison work
Our prisons should rehabilitate prisoners, turning the offenders of yesterday into the productive citizens of tomorrow.  To achieve this, prisoners must be engaged in work or learning throughout their sentence and the public should be assured that only those offenders who are prepared to use their time in prison productively should expect to gain privileges. Scottish Labour’s message is very clear – there will be no perks without work for prisoners in Scotland.

Too many prisoners also test positive during drugs tests. Scottish Labour will take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prisons and will introduce more random searches for prison visitors and prison wardens, banning those visitors who are caught smuggling drugs into prison.

We will further toughen-up the monitoring of open prisons, guided by the recommendations of the Spencer Report and will work with the third sector to reduce re-offending upon release, including supporting schemes that  ensure offenders are met ‘at the gate’ so that they don’t slip back into a life of crime.

Scottish Labour shares the public’s deep concern about giving votes to prisoners. If the franchise must be extended, then it should only be done in the most limited way possible. 

The 218 Centre in Glasgow provides an alternative to custody for female offenders and we aim to develop further alternatives based on this approach. In particular, we aim to create more rehabilitation places and use Drug Treatment and Testing Orders for a wider range of offences for female offenders who have children, to maximise the care and minimise the impact on the child.

Cutting crime
We know that serious crime takes an intolerable toll on our communities. That’s why Scottish Labour wants to see the serious crime campus at Gartcosh completed and we will work to build on the success of the Scottish Crime and Drug Agency. We aim to extend the use of online crime maps, so that communities can get regular, monthly access to information on the crimes committed in their area, along with information on what is being done to turn this around.

We will also review the potential for using Social Impact Bonds, which encourage private investors to support social entrepreneurs in achieving real results for crime prevention.

Cracking down on substance misuse
All too often, excessive alcohol consumption leads to crime and violence. Scottish Labour will roll out a range of measures to tackle problem alcohol abuse in Scotland. Alongside our National Strategy for Action on Alcohol, Scottish Labour will pilot groundbreaking new Alcohol Treatment and Testing Orders and Drink Banning Orders, to help offenders kick their addiction and address their offending behaviour. We will introduce a right for licensing forums to petition local authorities to end 24 hour licensing where problems arise and encourage local licensing boards to enforce the tagging of bottles of alcohol in problem areas to help crack down on under-age drinking, naming and shaming the retailers and adults who supply kids with alcohol.

Drugs, and the callous criminals who peddle them, are a scourge on our society. That’s why Labour will bring back the effective ‘Drug Dealers Don’t Care’ campaign, to encourage the public to call Crimestoppers anonymously, helping to get more dealers off our streets and behind bars.

Access to justice
Legal aid is vital to ensuring that access to justice is available to all. Scottish Labour is concerned that legal aid funding sometimes does not reach those who need it most. We will therefore bring forward a wide-ranging review of legal aid, with the aim of supporting the Scottish Legal Aid Board in their drive to ensure that funds are directed to those most in need and that legal aid is administered and delivered as effectively as possible. We will work to ensure communities are better supported by the Scottish legal system, through law centres, the Citizens Advice Bureau and other advice providers.
Scottish Labour will modernise the civil Justice System, ensuring that any changes to Civil Courts will be informed by our commitment to fairness and access for those seeking justice and ensuring that legal aid prioritises those who are genuinely most in need.

Many people find the Scottish legal system inaccessible and complex. That’s why Scottish Labour will make changes to the school curriculum to include information on the Scottish legal system, ensuring all our young people are equipped with an understanding of the basic principles of law, their rights and their responsibilities. We will ensure each new Act of the Scottish Parliament is accompanied with straightforward information that properly explains the new law and its impact.

Protection of workers
Scottish Labour will support measures underlined in the Damages (Scotland) Bill and the Protection of Workers (Scotland) Bill, placing particular emphasis on protecting public service workers from physical and verbal abuse. We will also take forward new laws to ensure that employers can be effectively held to account for accidents to employees which are a result of negligence by employers.

Too often, the conduct of Fatal Accident Inquiries takes too long and their conclusions are ignored with impunity. Scottish Labour will review the legislation relating to Fatal Accident Inquiries, to ensure it is fit for the 21st century, that lessons are learnt and the needs of victims are met.

Tackling hate crime
Labour will take tough action to stamp out sectarianism, wherever it occurs, to help build a Scotland that recognises and celebrates the faiths and cultures of all Scots. Scottish Labour will put tackling sectarianism back at the heart of government.

Hate crime has no place in our society, yet a worrying proportion of hate crimes continue to go unreported. Scottish Labour will work to drive up reporting rates, improve support for victims and ensure the perpetrators of hate crimes are severely dealt with. We will also ensure that sentencing guidelines deliver consistency in taking account of aggravated factors such as racism, homophobia, sectarianism and other hate crimes.