Chamber and committees

Although, as the member knows, responsibility for military conduct is a reserved issue, the Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to improving access to support for all those who have experienced rape or sexual assault and funds a range of front-line specialist support services. For example, through our victim-centred approach fund, we will provide £48 million to 23 organisations across Scotland over the period from 2022 to 2025. That includes £18.5 million for specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence, underlining our absolute commitment to putting victims very firmly at the centre of the justice system.

I certainly agree that more should be done to stamp out that culture. That has been true for many decades. When I took up this ministerial position last year, one of my first engagements was to go to a new veterans centre in Fife, where a woman, who was one of the first Wrens to be stationed on a ship, recounted some of her horrendous experience from the 1980s onwards. Much more should be done and should have been done over many years.

Of course, I agree that the more serious cases should be dealt with in the civilian criminal courts. We continue to push the UK Government to commit to the future implementation of recommendation 1 of the Lyons review. In January, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Defence to ask how the UK Government will address that important issue and how our service personnel can be assured that they will not be affected by such awful behaviour during their service. Although those were very reasonable questions, I did not receive even the courtesy of a response from the secretary of state.

That is certainly true, but it does not mean that the issues that members raise are not significant and important or should not be considered. However, the member is exactly right. I will give one example—probably wrongly—of that, which is the police officer, who I think was a superintendent, who drove the motorbike from Balmoral for six hours, at very low speeds, and was then confronted with the Royal Mile and its cobblestones. For him to come down there under control shows the level of concentration, ability and expertise that there is in Police Scotland.

I think that the police did a tremendous job, although, as I said, that does not mean that we should not explore other issues that have arisen.

I have already said two or three times that I fully support the right to democratic and peaceful protest. It is true, as Jamie Greene has pointed out, that the number of arrests was very small compared to the scale of the event that took place. Nevertheless, there are serious issues.

I say to Alex Cole-Hamilton: check the legislation. I am not allowed to involve myself, because a decision of this Parliament in 2012 explicitly rejected the idea that ministers or the Parliament should directly control the police. I am not allowed to do that under the legislation, so perhaps the member should familiarise himself with it before he asks his next question.

Although the latest recorded crime statistics are at their lowest level since 1974, which shows that Scotland is a safer place since this Government took office, there is much more to do. We are investing in policing to ensure that police numbers are higher than at any time during the previous Administration, and we are ensuring that victims and survivors are supported. Our victim-centred approach fund of £48 million will provide practical and emotional support to victims over the next three years. That includes £18.5 million for specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence, in addition to the delivery of the equally safe strategy, providing £19 million per year to focus on prevention as well as vital support services across Scotland.

Of course, we have to be—and we are—mindful of people’s experience of crime and how traumatic that can be. However, it is an utter absurdity to talk about complacency on the part of the Scottish Government. I saw a newspaper article today that said that, in Scotland, 45.1 per 1,000 people suffer an experience of crime, whereas, in England and Wales, that figure is 77.6 per 1,000 people. If we are complacent, what does that make the United Kingdom Government?

Of course, we are concerned for victims. That is why we have taken the measures that we have. Further, in relation to policing, we have far higher levels of policing in Scotland than is the case in the rest of the UK, and we have a starting salary for a police constable in Scotland that is more than £5,000 a year more than is the case in England and Wales. I also point to the success of the police in driving down levels of crime to their lowest level since 1974. We might think that we might hear the occasional word of praise for Police Scotland from the Conservatives, but we do not.

My views on the policing of COP26 are on the record.

As I said in my original answer—I have to repeat this—it is not appropriate for me to comment on the detail of specific cases. However, I understand that Police Scotland is aware of the incident that the member mentioned, video footage of which was shared via social media, and that the content of that footage is currently being reviewed.

I underline our commitment to having in place strong systems and processes for dealing with complaints against police. We outlined in the programme for government our intention to introduce a bill on police complaints and misconduct handling later this parliamentary year.

The member raises an important point, specifically on ensuring anonymity protection for complainers in sexual offence cases. The Scottish Government is engaging closely with key interested parties, including Rape Crisis Scotland, to ensure that the policy is delivered effectively.

More generally, for the various reforms that are likely to be included in the bill, we have continued Lady Dorrian’s approach of partnership working. A cross-sector governance group, where the legal sector is represented along with victim support organisations, is driving further consideration including implementation planning. That is invaluable, and will help to ensure that the reforms in court practice and procedure achieve the intended benefits.

Use of community payback orders is monitored in a variety of ways, including through national criminal justice social work and reconviction statistics. We know that CPOs can be more effective than prison at addressing the causes of offending, while also delivering benefits to communities, and our justice vision includes a continued focus on shifting the balance towards justice in the community.

The reconviction rate for offenders who are given CPOs is consistently lower than for those who are given short custodial sentences. In 2018-19, the reconviction rate for offenders who had been given CPOs was 29.2 per cent, compared with 51.7 per cent for those who had been given custodial sentences of one year or less.

I think that I have just confirmed that the right to peaceful and democratic protest is one that we fully support; it is also one that Police Scotland supports. There are a number of ways in which individual members can make their views known to the chief constable or to the SPA, but if the member is proposing particular methods, I am more than happy to meet her to discuss those further. However, the police are accountable in many different ways, and they are very open to receiving representations from MSPs, as the member will know.