Over a period of decades, children in the care of the state in Scotland were subject to appalling abuse and mistreatment.
The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is looking at the nature and extent of that abuse and the failures which allowed it to happen. In due course, it will publish a report and recommendations.
But we must act now.
Yesterday I offered an unreserved and heartfelt apology to everyone who suffered abuse in care in Scotland.
I accept the view that recognising these wrongs and providing justice to survivors – as far as we can – means the state should offer monetary payment.
So we will introduce legislation to do so before the end of this Parliamentary term. We will treat survivors with sensitivity and respect, and work with them to design a redress scheme that is fair to all.
For the many survivors of abuse who are elderly or ill, we don’t have the luxury of time. So we will also provide advance payments, as soon as possible, to those who may not live long enough to apply to a statutory scheme.
Scotland now joins a small but growing number of countries who acknowledge the failures of the past and accept the need to act.
This is a victory for many survivors who have fought with inspiring courage and determination for justice.
We cannot ever truly make up for their suffering and I know apologies and money will never be enough. This is the right thing to do.
Guest bloggers and researchers Sarah Armstrong, Beth Weaver and Trish McCulloch ask whether we can measure justice and how different people experience justice?
How do people experience justice? How do people decide if justice is just? These questions are at the heart of a project launching today, carried out by researchers at Dundee, Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities and funded by the Scottish Government. In ‘Measuring Justice: Defining Concepts, Developing Practice’, we will be exploring the ways that different people who come into contact with justice agencies – including victims, witnesses, accused, convicted – experience and assess their experience of justice.
The project will run through April 2019 and mainly involves an international review of research across a field of areas to round-up what is known about and the best techniques for measuring and understanding perceptions of justice. There are two important themes guiding our work. First, a concept called ‘procedural justice’ has influenced the way justice is understood and studied; the idea, supported by nearly 40 years of evidence, is that how people are treated fundamentally shapes their judgment about what is a fair outcome. Second, Scottish public services are moving towards a ‘person-centred service’ ethos and we will be exploring the ways that Scottish justice ‘users’ feel that services respect and respond to their needs.
By learning more about how an abstract concept like ‘justice’ is actually experienced during encounters with the police, courts, lawyers and more, we hope to contribute to developing policies and practices that realise Scotland’s aim to be a just and fair society. The findings may have implications for both criminal and civil settings of justice processes. In the final phase of the project we will be organising a workshop bringing a range of people together to share their experiences and expertise on justice in Scotland. At the end of this work we will produce materials that can be used by a range of groups to consider how they might define, measure and assess the quality of a justice experience.
We will be occasionally blogging about what we find as we go along, and hope you will follow this work. Further information about the project is on the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice (SCCJR) website, including details of how to contact the team. Keep in touch!
Research team: Sarah Armstrong (Glasgow University), Trish McCulloch (Dundee University), Beth Weaver (Strathclyde University) & Dominic Reed (Glasgow University)
Writing in the Scotsman this week, Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf reflected on the use of stop and search and how improved guidance for police has introduced a better balance between individual rights and allowing the police to continue to address crime in all its aspects.
One of the key challenges for any government minister is understanding how the impact of your polices is felt by people in their day-to-day lives. Actions have consequences, sometimes unintended ones, and getting the balance right is tricky. As a politician, my job is to see it from both sides by meeting, talking and listening to people.
But in the case of police powers to stop and search, I have first-hand experience of the impact on people.
As a young Asian man growing up in Glasgow I’ve been stopped and searched around a dozen times, sometimes at the airport, but when I was younger in the street or in my car or a friend’s car.
That was quite a few years ago now. Today I am in the privileged position of Justice Secretary and in a position to ensure the police have the tools to do their day job and civil liberties are protected.
Stop and search has an important place in terms of tackling, indeed preventing, crime and protecting the public. It is right that the police, who work day and night to keep our communities safe, have these powers.
But I know that I wasn’t alone in being concerned about some of the practices around stop and search.
It is vital there is a balance between, on the one hand, allowing the police to continue to address crime in all its aspects, and, on the other, the right of the public, including our young people, to go about their daily lives untroubled by unjustified police activity.
As a parliament and as a country we have been having this very debate over the last few years and this government has responded by putting in place the checks and balances needed.
We introduced a statutory code of practice in 2017 to ensure that stop and search is used legally and proportionately and that searches are carried out with fairness and respect, including specific guidance on searching children and vulnerable adults.
This suggests that stop and search is being used in a more effectively targeted and proportionate way.
There is an independent advisory group, led by human rights lawyer John Scott QC, which is currently reviewing how well the code is working in practice and will recommend to me if any further changes are required. This group, which includes representation from the police and the children’s commissioner, are also examining the impact of stop and search on people from ethnic minority groups.
The code of practice makes things clearer so Scotland’s police officers better understand when stop and search is lawful, appropriate and proportionate – and when it is not. Individuals also now have a better understanding of their own rights.
I believe there have been significant improvements but that is not to say that further improvements don’t need to be made. I will keep that closely under review, as the police and the public would expect.
Justice Secretary reflects on stop and search appeared first on Justice and Safety.
The week in review
This week’s round-up includes activity to tackle serious organised crime, a Parliamentary debate on the use of remand in Scotland, and an update on local and national preparations ahead of Bonfire Night including information and advice for those attending the November 5th celebrations to stay safe.
Honouring fallen police officers
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf travelled to Belfast on Sunday to attend the National Police Memorial Day service, where tributes were paid to officers from across the UK who have died in the line of duty.
Mr Yousaf said: “Those police officers recognised today are a credit to our services. It’s vital we continue to remember them and offer our support to their families and colleagues. I am reminded daily of how often our police officers go above and beyond. Our officers are a hugely dedicated and professional workforce who work for the safety and wellbeing of communities across the country, and I am deeply grateful for the job they do in order to keep us safe.”
On Monday the Justice Secretary called on communities to work together, and with local agencies, to frustrate the work of criminal gangs. Mr Yousaf was speaking after chairing his first meeting of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT) at the Scottish Crime Campus, Gartcosh. You can read more on the main Scottish Government website.
Later in the week the Justice Secretary joined members of the Scottish Anti-Illicit Trade Group (SAITG) as they formally recognised the efforts of two companies in helping tackle the trade in fake goods. Royal Mail has been instrumental in assisting HM Revenue & Customs to identify the trade of millions of illicit cigarettes in Scotland, while staff training by Vue Cinema helped them to assist with the conviction of a man caught filming T2 Trainspotting at their Glasgow Fort cinema earlier this year.
The Justice Secretary said: “I very much welcome the contribution that the Scottish Anti-Illicit Trade Group makes to the implementation of Scotland’s serious organised crime strategy and congratulate both recipients on today’s awards.”
Minister for Community Safety Ash Denham led the Government’s response to a Parliamentary debate on Wednesday focused on the Justice Committee’s recent report into the use of remand. Ms Denham also urged caution around comparing different months to try to contrast numbers between different years – in particular where numbers often fall in December ahead of Christmas.
She said: “Between 2008-09 and 2017-18, the total remand population fell by 19% from 1,679 to 1,361. The truth is that the average remand population, which is by far the best way to assess levels of remand, has gone down in each of the last three years – from 1,525 in 2015/16 to 1,361 in 2017/18. Despite this I accept the overall conclusion of the Justice Committee that the proportion of remand prisoners compared to the total prison population continues to be high, especially in relation to female prisoners.”
The Minister told MSPs that revised national guidance on bail supervision schemes would be issued to councils, while the Scottish government would also explore with local government the possibility of providing funding to increase the uptake of supervised bail and support to ensure that services can be accessed across the country. You can read the debate Official Report on the Scottish Parliament website or watch proceedings on the video below.
Meeting with family of Sheku Bayou
Also on Wednesday the Justice Secretary met the family of Sheku Bayoh and their representatives who advised him the current status of the Crown investigation into Mr Bayoh’s death. Mr Yousaf’s statement following the meeting can be read on Twitter, here.
My thanks to Sheku Bayoh's family for meeting with me on what must have been an incredibly difficult day for them. They have shown enormous courage & dignity in the face of the most challenging circumstances.
The Community Safety Minister was in Pilton, Edinburgh on Friday, where she met local council, police and fire service representatives to hear about on-going work to prepare for Bonfire Night and associated activity in the days and weeks running up to November 5th. The Minister encouraged people to attend organised fireworks displays to ensure everyone has a safe and enjoyable Bonfire Night. And she said robust action would be taken against anyone who puts lives in danger through the misuse of fireworks. This follows a number of incidents last year where police officers and fire crew members were injured by fireworks. Read more on the main Scottish Government website, which includes links to further information and advice.
“The use of fireworks as a means of inflicting injury on members of our emergency services is completely unacceptable … robust action will be taken against anyone who puts lives at risk."
— Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (@fire_scot) October 5, 2018
Brave@Heart Awards
Sixty people from the emergency and voluntary sectors, as well as members of the public, were presented with Brave@Heart Awards this week, recognising acts of bravery and heroism. The awards were presented by the First Minister at a special event held at Edinburgh Castle.
FM @NicolaSturgeon tonight hosted the Brave@heart awards at Edinburgh Castle, to recognise and celebrate acts of bravery by staff of the blue-light services, volunteering sector rescue organisations and members of the public. pic.twitter.com/REBewbDZCe
This week’s round up includes the launch of a new hate crime marketing campaign, the latest action to tackle gender-based violence in universities and colleges, new recorded crime stats and more.
Standing up to hate crime
Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf and Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell met victims of hate crime at the Writer’s Museum in Edinburgh for the launch of a new campaign spelling out the importance of reporting hate crime.
Launched our latest campaign to tackle hate crime alongside colleague @ClydesdAileen
Really powerful messages, all signed off "Yours, Scotland" making the point that the vast majority of us have zero tolerance towards hatred. So if you see it, or are a victim, please report it. pic.twitter.com/GioitMCoCM
Making universities and colleges safer places to live, work and study
All college and university staff in Scotland were given information cards to help them support anyone experiencing gender based violence. #EmilyTest campaigner Fiona Drouet’s powerful speech at the launch underline the life-changing importance of victims being able to disclose their experience to someone they feel comfortable speaking to, and knowing that they will be believed.
Recorded crime statistics and new research into robbery published
Research published alongside the annual recorded crime statistics found that cases of muggings on Scotland’s streets have more than halved over the past decade. Teenagers and people in their twenties are also now much less likely to commit a robbery, or be a victim of one.
Scotland’s annual crime statistics have been released today. There were 244,504 recorded crimes in Scotland in 2017-18. This is up 1% over the year, though still the second lowest level since 1974.
Police officers in Scotland are to receive an immediate 6.5% pay increase in recognition of the essential work they do in keeping people safe. The deal represents an additional £125 million in officer wages over the period and is consistent with efforts to bring the police budget back into financial balance.
The award will see a salary increase of £2,300 for a mid-point Constable and the equivalent of an additional £6,000 in pay over the next 31 months.
Pay settlement for officers thoroughly deserved and well earned. We are also working hard to ensure fairness for police staff pay harmonisation – vital to value and recognise all people in policing #publicservice
This week also saw the completion of MSPs’ line-by-line (Stage 2) consideration of the Prescription Bill, which aims to increase clarity, certainty and fairness for those in dispute over certain rights and obligations, and allow for more effective use of time and resources.
The legislation implements recommendations from the Scottish Law Commission, which highlighted issues with the law of negative prescription that can cause difficulty in practice, leading to unnecessary inconvenience and expense.
Minister for Community Safety Ash Denham tabled a number of amendments to improve the terms of the Bill, and responded to other proposed amendments from MSPs during Tuesday’s session at the Delegated Powers & Law Reform Committee. You can read the official report on the Parliament website or watch a video of the committee session below.
Navigating the world of work
Working in emergency departments in Scotland’s hospitals, the Navigator programme aims to help stop the revolving door of violent injury in A&E. This week, Business Minister Jamie Hepburn launched a new toolkit developed for use by Navigator mentors so they can include advice about employment and employability in the services they provide.
The Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills @jamiehepburn handed over an employability toolkit to Navigators, so that they can include advice about employment and employability in the services they provide. https://t.co/8t6XWdTqN8pic.twitter.com/UUxXqGlv44
