Chamber and committees

When it is believed that a child or young person under 18 is a victim of exploitation or human trafficking, an immediate child protection response is required from police officers who are trained to undertake relevant procedures, including interagency referral discussions. Police Scotland has in place clear guidance to ensure a dual investigation of suspected criminal activity and potential human trafficking that might have led to an offence being committed.

Decisions regarding prosecutions are for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. The Lord Advocate has published instructions regarding the presumption against prosecution of persons who are the victims of trafficking, slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour who have committed offences as a consequence.

A key priority of the new victim-centred approach fund is to provide support and assistance to adult victims of human trafficking to help them to recover and begin to rebuild their lives.

I do, and I thank Eleanor Whitham for raising the matter with me. I am sorry to hear about her constituent’s experience. The Scottish Government is clear that no one should have to experience such abuse, especially where the abuse is being perpetrated by somebody who is already held in custody.

If she has not done this already, Eleanor Whitham’s constituent might wish to report that incident to the police. If the member wants to give me further information, I would be happy to raise the matter with the Scottish Prison Service. If a complaint is made to the Scottish Prison Service or Police Scotland, prison rules can be used to put further processes in place in respect of any prisoner who is involved in the misuse of a phone. The Scottish Prison Service could work with Police Scotland to assist in the investigation. If Eleanor Whitham wants to provide me with further information, I will look into the matter for her.

Experiences and perceptions of antisocial behaviour have reduced over the past 10 years. The Scottish crime and justice survey reported that fewer adults thought that it was common in their area for people to behave in an antisocial manner, with a drop from 46 per cent in 2008-09 to 33 per cent in 2019-20. More adults felt safe walking alone after dark in their local area, with that figure going up from 66 per cent in 2008-09 to 77 per cent by 2019-20. Although we would all agree that that is good news, we are not complacent, so our support for the Scottish Community Safety Network and partner organisations makes it harder for individuals to engage in antisocial behaviour. By working in that partnership way, we can continue that positive trend.

The Scottish Government funds Migrant Help, the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance and the Scottish guardianship service to provide specialised support to adults and unaccompanied children who are potential victims of trafficking. That support is key to mitigating the risks of retrafficking. It includes safe accommodation, legal and financial advice, supporting return to education and support in navigating the welfare and immigration systems.

The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act was passed unanimously in 2015. It gives the police and prosecutors greater powers to detect and bring to justice those who are responsible for trafficking. Obviously, decisions in relation to prosecution are for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and are taken in line with its published “Prosecution Code”.

A number of convictions have been secured under the terms of the 2015 act. However, we also recognise that human trafficking is a complex crime in which control and coercion are often exerted by perpetrators over victims in sometimes subtle and often hidden ways. Crimes relating to human trafficking may also be prosecuted under other offences.

Supporting victim engagement is key in the area and is an element of the law enforcement approach that is being taken. Police Scotland has recently seconded a victim navigator from the charity Justice and Care to its national human trafficking unit, to enable early contact with potential victims and to support them through the criminal justice process, where the victims wish it.

I agree with Willie Rennie and I understand completely that although antisocial behaviour can seem to be quite minor in the scheme of things, it can have a devastating impact on individuals’ daily lives. We want people to feel safe in their communities, and we want the process for them to get help from the authorities in addressing issues to be as simple as possible. If the member contacts my office and provides examples of what he is talking about, I will look into the matter for him.

Gillian Martin raises an important point. I commend her work on the matter.

Around 80 to 85 per cent of High Court trials relate to sexual offending, so the backlogs in the criminal courts can have a disproportionate effect on access to justice for women. The Scottish Government has invested £50 million of funding to help the Crown Office and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to address the impact of coronavirus on the courts. New court capacity was introduced in September this year, with four additional High Courts and two additional solemn sheriff courts sitting. That is a significant increase from the pre-pandemic trial court position and a direct response to the concerns about access to justice.

Efforts have also been made to prioritise domestic abuse cases, as raised by Gillian Martin. In the first quarter of 2021-22, such cases accounted for nearly half of sheriff court summary trials in which evidence was led. That helps to show how efforts have been made to prioritise domestic abuse cases.

Improving women’s access to justice is a key Scottish Government priority across all aspects of the justice system, including ensuring that criminal law can be used to deal with perpetrators of violence against women, such as with the new domestic abuse offence; empowering women to access justice through consideration of enhanced, targeted support for legal aid; assessing how the recommendations in Lady Dorrian’s report could transform the experience of sexual offence victims; and delivering the necessary funding to allow the justice system to respond to the challenges of the pandemic with a specific focus on gender-based offences.

I agree that mental health issues can sometimes be the reason for that type of behaviour. If it is okay with Jamie Greene, I will speak to my colleague in health and will perhaps get back to him with a joint reply on how justice and health are working together on the issue.

We are committed to ensuring that the police and local authorities continue to have the powers and resources that are needed to reduce antisocial behaviour in our communities, including investing in prevention and early intervention. We fund the Scottish Community Safety Network, which has links to all of Scotland’s local authorities and community planning partnerships, to support community safety partnerships and other agencies, such as CrimeStoppers and Neighbourhood Watch Scotland, to achieve positive outcomes for individuals and communities.