Chamber and committees

I regularly meet Teresa Medhurst, the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service. Like many public services, the Scottish Prison Service is currently reviewing all policies and practices in consideration of the impacts of the Supreme Court judgment. It is working at pace to ensure that any policies or practices that are impacted are brought into line with the outcome of the judgment and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s revised code of practice, when that is published, to ensure compliance with the law.

The crime survey shows a substantial fall in violent and property crime since 2008-09, despite a 34 per cent increase since 2021-22. Levels also remain similar to the pre-pandemic position.

We welcome the expansion of the survey to include people’s experiences of fraud and computer misuse. The first results show that one in 10 adults was the victim of those crimes in 2023-24, although most who lost money were reimbursed. We will continue to work with partners on the serious organised crime task force to raise awareness of the risks that exist and of how criminals try to defraud individuals and organisations.

In Scotland and in England and Wales, there have been substantial falls in victimisation rates for violent and property crime since 2008-09. Prior to 2023-24, Scotland had a violent and property crime victimisation rate that was either lower than or similar to that in England and Wales. However, Scotland’s crime victimisation rate, including fraud, was 19.9 per cent in 2023-24, which is above the equivalent for England and Wales at 16.1 per cent. Findings from the next survey will be needed to understand whether the higher rate this time is a temporary fluctuation. However, prior to that, we remain fully committed to tackling crime in Scotland, including through the delivery of increased police funding year on year since 2016-17.

In conclusion, there are decades of research that support what works with the reintegration of offenders when they return to their community.

As I shared with the Criminal Justice Committee when I gave evidence to it, the recall rate is low, at 7 per cent, and any registered victim on the victim notification scheme will be informed if someone is to be released on home detention curfew. It is the case that all individuals will continue to be fully assessed. The SSI proposes changes to two out of the range of statutory criteria that must be met. This realignment of policy is in response to the previous changes that the Parliament made to the release of short-term prisoners. I encourage members to support the SSI.

I say again to the Parliament and to my colleague Annabelle Ewing that the Scottish Government has been crystal clear that we accept the Supreme Court judgment. As a public body, the Scottish Prison Service is required to comply with all relevant legislation including the Equality Act 2010; legislation that relates to the management of people in custody, such as the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989 and the Prisons and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2011; and the Human Rights Act 1998. Of course, all legislation, policy and practice should be consistent with the European convention on human rights.

As I have said previously, the Scottish Prison Service is actively considering and engaged with what changes are needed following the judgment, while continuing to work to keep people safe and protect the rights of people living or working in custody.

I very much acknowledge the potential of alcohol monitoring tags, and the member is absolutely correct regarding the statistic that she quoted. The proportion of violent crime involving alcohol has reduced from 63 per cent to 35 per cent.

Nonetheless, I will proceed with the priorities that I have already laid out to the Parliament. In the first instance, I will pursue global positioning system functionality, because that has benefits for managing problematic drinking due to the additional capabilities in relation to monitoring locations, including exclusion zones. However, alcohol monitoring tags absolutely have a role to play.

Police Scotland has reviewed the decision-making process in and around the case involving police dog Zara, and it has done so in accordance with its policies. I am told that the inspector who carried out the review was not the person who made the decision to euthanise the dog.

I appreciate the member’s interest in the matter, given the nature of the work that police dogs do, but I do not think that I can add any further light on the matter. I suggest that he pursues it with the chief constable.

With respect, I note that that was the subject of a topical question last week, and I am of the view that I addressed the matter in full at that point. There was an error on the part of Police Scotland, which it acknowledged. It has put on the record, as I did last week, that it has undertaken a course of action to ensure that policies and procedures work as intended.

We continue to develop the electronic monitoring service and are committed to expanding its use. We will continue to investigate the role that alcohol monitoring technology could play within the service. As part of that, we are considering how this technology might be used within our justice system, and its potential benefits.

As the member is aware, operational policing decisions are the responsibility of the chief constable, under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. However, when I discussed Police Scotland’s approach to animal welfare with the chief constable at one of our regular meetings on 27 February, she assured me that the welfare of police animals is of paramount importance, and that decisions that are taken on animal wellbeing and welfare are informed by the advice of veterinary professionals.

I understand that Police Scotland is currently undertaking a review of its processes around decisions on situations of this nature.