Making our communities safer

We all want to live in safe communities where nobody has to fear that they may become a victim of crime. It is a sad fact that almost everybody knows somebody that has been the victim of a crime at some point. However, while completely eradicating crime may be all but impossible, there is real progress being made in efforts to tackle criminality and make our streets safer for ordinary people.

Before the 2007 election, the SNP promised that we would put 1,000 additional police officers on the streets over the course of the parliamentary term. Just past the half-way point of that term, this promise has now been met. There are now 17,278 police officers serving in Scotland, 1,044 more than at the end of the previous administration and a record high.

Although simply recruiting more police officers is not a silver bullet, the truth is that there is really no substitute for putting more Bobbies on the beat when it comes to protecting local communities. In the Grampian police area, there are now an additional 158 officers serving compared to March 2007. These officers are having a real effect, creating a more visible police presence and demonstrably driving down levels of crime.

Opposition politicians have made many statements predicting that the Scottish Government would fail to meet this target and many will feel that they owe the Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill an apology. Not only has the SNP Government fulfilled another of our manifesto commitments, we have done so well ahead of schedule.

Yet just as important as preventing or catching criminals is what action our justice system takes after somebody is found guilty. Recently published figures revealed that a staggering 74% of people, three out of every four who receive short-term custodial sentences go on to re-offend within two years of their release. For three quarters of short term prisoners to commit further crimes after their sentence is clearly unsustainable and indicates a clear problem with the status quo.

Given that the same set of statistics reveal that reconviction rates amongst those who receive sentences of four years or more is 27%, it is clear that short-term sentences do very little to change a pattern of repeat offending. The same set of statistics also reveals that of those given a community service order, the majority do not go on to re-offend.

There is little to be gained from the constant cycle of giving repeat offenders short-term sentences that do not give prison authorities time to change their behaviour, one of the key purposes of custodial sentences. Tough community sentences demonstrably have a greater chance of preventing offenders, who would otherwise receive a sentence of less than 6 months, from committing more crimes.

It is not a question of being hard or soft on criminals, but rather of being effective in changing their behaviour.

The Scottish Government intends to introduce Community Payback Orders to replace some existing community sentences. Prisons need to be able to focus their resources on the serious criminals for whom prison is the only option. Those guilty of less serious crimes should be made to repay the communities that they have offended against.

This is the only way that the cycle of re-offending amongst those currently receiving short-term sentences can be broken and the only way to improve rehabilitation rates. This kind of change is vital for the future of our prison estate and the proposals are being monitored with interest outside Scotland’s borders. It is imperative that we make the right choices.