Chamber and committees

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

Following several months of positive discussions with the POA(S) regarding prison officers’ pay, SPS made a pay offer on 9 August 2019.

The offer is a three year deal for 2019-22 providing a 6% pay rise for prison officers in year 1, with higher awards of 6.4% and 6.6% respectively for staff in Bands C and D at the top of their pay band maximum. This is followed by further 4% rises, for those earning up to £36,500, in years 2 and 3.

The POA(S) announced on 30 August 2019 that following a ballot of their members the offer had been overwhelming accepted.

The Equally Safe Multi-Agency Centre (ESMAC) in Edinburgh will bring together experts from child and adult protection, health, police and social work, to provide age-appropriate, wrap-around care for children, young people and adults who have been a victim of rape, sexual assault, child sexual abuse or other forms of gender based violence. This ambitious project is backed by £2.6m of Scottish Government funding.

The ESMAC Steering Group is chaired by NHS Lothian, who are responsible for overseeing the project and keeping the timescales under review. A phased approach to the development of the service will likely see the service commence in Spring 2020.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

SPS does not utilise a system of sanction and reward as a means to encourage engagement with drug treatment. SPS views problem drug use through a public health lens and adopts a therapeutic approach in dealing with the issue of drug misuse.

Prisoner healthcare is the responsibility of the NHS and addiction services in prisons are provided in line with local NHS Board strategies. All clinical addiction treatment and support is delivered by NHS Health Boards.

All individuals entering prison are assessed for healthcare needs, including addictions. Where concerns are raised in relation to substance misuse during a person’s time in SPS care, then a referral for NHS services will be made.

Police Officer Quarterly Strength Scotland (POQS) gives the number of full-time equivalent police officers employed by Police Scotland. Since the first edition of the quarterly series (Published December 2008), POQS has held the status of “Official Statistics”, emphasising that figures are:

• Produced independently by professional statisticians and published by a recognised producer of “Official Statistics” as set out in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007.
• Are prepared in compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics and are subject to scrutiny by the UK Statistics Authority.

The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) determine what to prioritise for assessment within the context of their developing vision and mission. OSR consult the Chief Statistician on their Regulatory Work Programme, which is published online:

https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/osr/our-regulatory-work-programme

Currently this includes a programme of work seeking to improve the ‘Use of Policing Statistics in Public Discourse’;

https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/publication/use-of-policing-statistics-in-public-discourse/

The Chief Statistician considers the principles of the Code of Practice for Statistics in determining priorities and whether to formally request an assessment.

The statistics in the POQS release are based upon quarterly returns made by Police Scotland to the Scottish Government, and are a by-product of live administrative processes, generated directly from the HR systems. The published police officer figures are sourced from Police Scotland’s personnel records and as such the quality and reliability is good. Further information on POQS can be found in the Statistical Release Notes that accompany each publication. A link to the latest officer numbers publication is given below:

https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/PublicationPoliceStrength/POQS2019Q2

As detailed in the Restorative Justice Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/restorative-justice-action-plan/ , published in June 2019, we aim to have stakeholder groups in place by Autumn 2019. We are in the process of establishing these groups.

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

SPS has a zero tolerance approach towards violence. SPS staff are trained to recognise and respond to the precursors of violence and manage any incidents when they do occur. Violent incidents are always reported to Police Scotland.

CCTV cameras operate within all Scottish prisons to deter violence and assist in any post-incident investigations. Violence Reduction meetings also take place across Scottish prisons on a monthly basis to discuss all notable incidents, drivers, trends and preventative actions. SPS facilitates a number of national search operations to support the recovery of contraband and weapons which can lead to, or can be used in, violence.

Before any person in our care is allocated to a residential area, a Cell Sharing Risk Assessment (CSRA) must always, firstly, be conducted. The CSRA is used to inform the decision as to whether an individual is suitable to share a cell with another and reduces the risk of harm, including interpersonal violence from the outset.

The CSRA process is dynamic and records are continually updated in response to changes in circumstance which may impact upon the level of risk presented. Where any person is identified as presenting a risk to others, then this is recorded and will inform all subsequent management decisions.

SPS continues to seek understanding of the changing nature of the prison population profile and the subsequent impact on violence, particularly in relation to Serious and Organised Crime Groups (SOCGs). SPS has in place measures to prevent individuals identified as enemies from encountering each other.

Finally, in order to safely manage the increased prison population a Population Management Plan has been developed by SPS and implemented in response.

This information is not held centrally.

Police Officer Quarterly Strength Scotland (POQS) gives the total number of full-time equivalent police officers employed by Police Scotland. First published as Official Statistics in December 2008, POQS was designed to measure the implementation of the 2007 manifesto commitment to increase officer numbers by 1,000. As such, figures include all police officers appointed by the Chief Constable of Police Scotland and senior police officers appointed by the Scottish Police Authority, excluding those on career breaks.

The latest edition of POQS was published on 6 August 2019, and reports that there were 17,259 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in Scotland on 30 June 2019, up 87 police officers (+0.5%) in the last year, from 30 June 2018 and up 1,025 police officers (+6.3%) from the position at 31 March 2007.

Deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. Police Scotland publish sub-national police officer numbers on a quarterly basis in parallel with the Scottish Government’s Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics. A link to Police Scotland’s latest sub-national officer numbers publication, providing information on the number of police officers deployed nationally, regionally and within the 13 local policing divisions, is given below:

https://www.scotland.police.uk/assets/pdf/138327/212520/police-scotland-officer-numbers-quarter-1-30th-june2019?view=Standar .

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice has regular discussions with the Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to discuss a range of prison policy and operational matters.

The independent jury research commissioned by the Scottish Government is due to be published on Wednesday 9 October 2019.

The Scottish Government is planning to host a launch event for the research on that day, with attendees invited from the legal profession, third sector, justice organisations, the Justice Committee, defence agents, and other key stakeholders.

After publication the Scottish Government will engage widely to seek views on the findings and any implications for future criminal justice reforms.

Temporary release is an important part of the rehabilitation process which helps the Parole Board assess whether someone is ready to be released back into the community. It is one of a number of considerations taken into account in assessing the person’s risk to the public. A rigorous risk assessment process is undertaken by the Scottish Prison Service before any offender is granted any form of unescorted leave. This involves psychological assessment, social work reports and reports on their time in prison. Home leave is an important part of the reintegration process and allows an individual to be tested on how they adapt to living in the community. Furthermore, individuals who have joined the Victim Notification Scheme, and have expressed a desire to make representations in relation to licence conditions under section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003.