Good morning.
I start by recognising the key role that retail workers play in local communities and in the Scottish economy. During the coronavirus outbreak, the contribution that they are making has only been emphasised to us all as the retail trade helps communities across Scotland to get through these challenging times. It is right that retail workers should be protected by our criminal laws.
The committee has heard evidence on a range of criminal conduct that retail workers can be exposed to, which can involve verbal abuse, threatening and abusive behaviour and physical attacks, including spitting. Clearly, such conduct is completely unacceptable, and perpetrators should be held to account.
A wide range of existing criminal laws is in place. Examples include the offence of threatening or abusive behaviour and the offence of assault. Those existing laws give courts discretion to impose maximum penalties far in excess of those that are proposed in the bill.
Of course, legislation needs to have a practical effect. Daniel Johnson’s bill is very well intentioned. However, the new offence contained in the bill largely restates existing, more general offences, but with lower penalties. The Scottish Government’s view is that, where the new offence seeks to extend the law, it does so in a way that sets too low a threshold for criminality in respect of the new hindering and obstructing offences.
Obviously, enforcement of the law is for Police Scotland, the Crown Office and, ultimately, the criminal courts. As Police Scotland said in its evidence on 3 March, the bill would not change the enforcement of the law in respect of threats against and abuse of retail workers, as Police Scotland already takes those issues seriously.
More can always be done to ensure that measures are in place to encourage the reporting of violence against and abuse of retail workers so that a clear message is sent to perpetrators that such conduct is wrong. However, creating new laws that replicate existing laws, or extending the law in a way that lowers the threshold for criminality to hindering or obstructing a retail worker, does not seem to be the answer to helping to keep retail workers safe.
However, I will follow all the evidence to the committee with interest, and I will, of course, reflect carefully on the committee’s report when it is produced.