- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 17 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homicides there were in 2007-08, broken down by (a) age of accused and (b) main method of killing.
Answer
Homicide Victims, by Main Method of Killing and Age of Main Accused, 2007-08
| Main Method of Killing | 5 to 15 Years | 16 to 20 Years | 21 to 29 Years | 30 to 49 Years | 50 to 69 Years | 70 Years and over | Total |
| Shooting | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Sharp instrument | 1 | 11 | 15 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 55 |
| Blunt instrument | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Hitting and kicking | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 14 |
| Strangulation/asphyxiation | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Drowning | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Fire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Poisoning | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Other or unknown | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| All methods | 2 | 16 | 40 | 43 | 8 | 2 | 111 |
Source: Scottish Government annual homicide statistics return.
In 2007-08 there were 114 homicide cases in Scotland, each of which involved one victim. For 111 of the 114 homicide victims in 2007-08, one or more accused persons have been identified, as at 28 November 2008. One hundred and forty eight accused persons have been identified in total.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 17 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many homicides there were in 2007-08, broken down by (a) police force area and (b) main method of killing.
Answer
Homicide Victims, by Main Method of Killing and Police Force Area, 2007-08
| Main Method of Killing | Central | Dumfries and Galloway | Fife | Grampian | Lothian and Borders | Northern | Strathclyde | Tayside |
| Shooting | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Sharp instrument | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 39 | 1 |
| Blunt instrument | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Hitting and kicking | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| Strangulation/asphyxiation | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Drowning | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Fire | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Poisoning | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| Other or unknown | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| All methods | 3 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 6 | 66 | 7 |
Source: Scottish Government annual homicide statistics return.
In 2007-08 there were 114 homicide cases in Scotland, each of which involved one victim. For 111 of the 114 homicide victims in 2007-08, one or more accused persons have been identified, as at 28 November 2008. One hundred and forty eight accused persons have been identified in total.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive further to the answer to question S3W-22851 by Fergus Ewing on 23 June 2009, what assessment it has made of the recent audit of individual local authority performance of start and completion timescales in respect of community service orders.
Answer
The Community Service - Audit of Immediacy and Speed revealed a mixed picture of performance levels across local authorities. Certain authorities were performing well against the timescales set out in the National Standards then operable whilst for others the audit identified scope for significant improvement. A follow-up audit on start and completion timescales is due to be carried out early in 2010.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it agrees with the reported comments of Sheriff James Tierney that there are grounds for both public and judicial concern as to the management of community service orders in Aberdeen and, if so, what action it intends to take.
Answer
Sheriff Tierney''s comments arose from the circumstances of a specific community service order for which Aberdeen City Council was responsible. In addition to the particular circumstances of this case, the authority has encountered a number of operational difficulties in recent months arising from staffing shortages. We understand that additional staff have now been recruited and that a reduction in waiting times is anticipated.
We remain committed to the development of community penalties. That is why earlier this year revised guidance was issued for the management of community service schemes and performance by local authorities against the new guidance will be monitored. We have also allocated an additional £5.5 million over the current and next financial years, specifically to allow improvement in the delivery of community service and in preparation for the introduction of Community Payback Orders.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 09 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-22851 by Fergus Ewing on 23 June 2009 and following the recent audit of individual local authority performance of start and completion timescales in respect of community service orders, what targets have been set for local authorities and how many local authority areas are currently achieving targets for getting offenders (a) started on and (b) to complete community service orders, broken down by local authority area.
Answer
The audit referred to in the answer to S3W-22851 was designed to establish a baseline of existing levels of performance and the improvements which local authorities require to make to deliver against the revised guidelines for community service which came into effect from 1 June 2009. A follow-up audit based on performance in respect of start timescales for November 2009 and completion times for the last quarter of the calendar year 2009 will be carried out early in 2010 and the findings published. Local authorities are responsible for monitoring on an ongoing basis their own standards of performance.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, what its response is to the finding that 82% of those sampled who believe that the community should have a say in the projects helped by the CSO Scheme and, if so, what actions it intends to take.
Answer
The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill will place a statutory duty on local authorities to consult each year with appropriate representatives of community groups/agencies on the types of reparative activities within the area to be undertaken by those sentenced to unpaid work and other activity requirement as part of a Community Payback Order. This will ensure that communities have an opportunity to have a say in the work carried out, so that those who offend are forced to do something which improves the local community which they have damaged.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, whether it has any concerns about the finding that 73.6% of individuals are either “not very satisfied” or “not at all satisfied” that offenders receive adequate punishment and, if so, what actions it intends to take.
Answer
Sentencing decisions are a matter for the sentencing judge, who hears all the facts and circumstances surrounding the offence and the offender, and is able to take into account any factors which he or she considers to be relevant.
While Scottish ministers can neither comment on nor intervene in the sentences imposed in individual cases, we do want to see greater consistency and transparency in the decisions of our courts. We believe that government has a responsibility to ensure that Scotland has the appropriate framework in place to promote fairness and justice in sentencing. In light of this, we have taken forward proposals for the creation of a Scottish Sentencing Council which will develop a system of sentencing guidelines. The provisions for the creation of the Sentencing Council are included in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, which was published on 6 March 2009.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, whether it has any concerns about the finding that 61.8% of individuals did not know Criminal Justice Services was part of Council Social Work Services in Scotland and, if so, what actions it intends to take.
Answer
We acknowledge that there is scope for improved public understanding of the work of criminal justice social work services. It forms part of the communications theme of the long-term coordinated Offender Management Programme now underway.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, what assessment it has made of the finding in relation to the type of work individuals think that people on Community Service should do, namely that (a) 87.7% of individuals thought that the work should be about help in the local community and (b) 57% thought offenders should improve their employment skills in the process, and what actions it intends to take as a result.
Answer
Our proposals in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill, which was published on 6 March 2009, include provisions for a flexible new Community Payback Order to tackle the causes of offending behaviour as well as responding to its effect. Courts will have the opportunity as part of such an order to impose one or more of a range of requirements on an offender, including any unpaid work and other activity requirement, which will provide opportunity for an offender to make payback to his or her local community and to get his or her life back on track. Different approaches will work best in different areas, but these are the underpinning principles on which we are seeking to develop the use of payback.
- Asked by: Richard Baker, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 July 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Kenny MacAskill on 12 August 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the findings of the Community Service Visibility Project: Final Report, completed by the Fife and Forth Valley Community Justice Authority Board and presented to the Justice Committee on 9 June 2009, how it intends to increase the (a) visibility of community service, (b) numbers and quality of requests for projects from the community and (c) level of public understanding and confidence in community service as a court disposal.
Answer
The National Strategy for Offender Management highlighted communication as one of its key themes. Protecting Scotland''s Communities, published in December 2008, continues this theme. In particular, we are working with the Community Justice Authorities to develop, in partnership with a range of key agencies, ways of engaging with communities in order to present factual information about what community sentences involve and how well they are performing. The Fife and Forth Valley Community Service Visibility project is one such initiative, one successful aim of which was to increase the number of requests from the community for projects.
