Chamber and committees

I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

HM Prison Perth is conducting a review to explore the reasons for the number of prisoners testing positive for illegal substances on liberation, and will develop an appropriate action plan.

I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

SPS recognises the concerns raised by HM Inspectorate of Prisons, with 28% of liberations testing positive for illegal substances, although this is a significant reduction from the 82% who tested positive on admission.

HMP Perth is currently undertaking a review of its work to manage prisoners with problematic drug use. This will include a review of measures to reduce availability and supply of illicit substances, and the range of treatment and rehabilitation services available, since individual prisoners will require different routes to recovery.

I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

Drug problems are highly prevalent in prisoners, with two out of three testing positive for illicit drugs on admission (71%, SPS Addiction Prevalence Testing  2008-09) and just under half reporting being under the influence (45%, 12th SPS Prisoner Survey 2009) at the time of their offence.

SPS is committed to reducing illicit drug use and trafficking across Scotland''s prisons and will take all reasonable measures to reduce the supply of and demand for illicit substances and the harm caused by substance misuse.

Since the implementation of the Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004 these powers have not been used.

The Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004 contains a range of measures that have helped communities. These measures, including vehicle seizure, dispersal and fixed penalty notice powers have been used effectively by local agencies to tackle antisocial behaviour.

Promoting Positive Outcomes: Working Together to Prevent Antisocial Behaviour in Scotland, published jointly with COSLA in March 2009 and with the support of all relevant agencies, puts prevention at the heart of our approach to antisocial behaviour and enforcement is just one aspect of this.

Statistics on the number of antisocial behaviour orders issued to adults and under 16''s between 1 October 2004 and 31 March 2008, by local authority area, can be found on the Scottish Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk.

Information on the number of antisocial behaviour orders issued since 31 March 2008 is not held centrally.

The responsibility for the publication of these reports lies with local authorities. Information on the publication of these reports is not held centrally.

Promoting Positive Outcomes: Working Together to Prevent Antisocial Behaviour in Scotland was published jointly with COSLA in March 2009 with the support of all relevant agencies. Volume 2 contains the detailed research, analysis and public consultation that informed this review.

As part of this, the implementation plan for the framework, published on 23 October 2009, proposed that a new voluntary performance framework will be created which will support partners and practitioners in developing effective strategies locally. Included in this is a proposed objective to identify and support the collection at a local level of performance management information which will enable local authorities and partners to focus on continually improving performance.

Statistics on the number of antisocial behaviour orders issued to adults and under 16s between 1 October 2004 and 31 March 2008, by local authority area, can be found on the Scottish Government website at www.scotland.gov.uk.

Information on the number of antisocial behaviour orders issued since 31 March 2008 is not held centrally.

Edinburgh is a safe city and initiatives such as the Edinburgh Violence Reduction Programme enable partners to work together to make the city even safer. For example, the number of homicides in Edinburgh in 2008-09 was at the lowest recorded level in 20 years. Recent analysis carried out by Lothian and Borders Police found that the overall number of incidents involving a knife was low in comparison to some other parts of the country, but that in Edinburgh as a whole, areas in the north of the city had a higher number of incidents of criminal use and possession of knives and bladed articles.

Lothian and Borders Police use an intelligence-led policing model to target resources on those most likely to be carrying and using weapons. We know from local performance information that this approach has contributed to a 33% reduction in crimes involving the possession of offensive weapons in Edinburgh in 2009-10 compared to 2006-07.

Sentencing in individual cases is entirely 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.

An increasing number of people who are caught carrying knives are being convicted and are receiving custodial sentences and the length of those sentences is also increasing “ in the last two years jail terms for knife carrying have increased by two thirds. The courts have the powers needed to impose substantial sentences of up four years for possession and, should a judge weigh up the circumstances and decide that a four-year sentence is appropriate, he or she will go ahead and impose it.

The overall decrease in crimes of handling an offensive weapon of 11% since 2006‘07 indicates that this tough approach, combined with record investment in violence reduction initiatives and action on knife crime, is having a positive impact on knife crime on our streets.