I move amendment S6M-03098.3, to leave out from “recognises” to end and insert: “notes the urgent, wide-ranging and chronic concerns raised by the Parliament’s Criminal Justice Committee in its recent report, Judged on progress: The need for urgent delivery on Scottish justice sector reforms; acknowledges that there have been worrying increases in violent and sexual crime in Scotland as evidenced by the 78% rise in sexual crimes over the last 10 years, and the rises in violent crime recorded so far this year adversely affecting women and children; believes that a number of factors resulting from Scottish Government policy decisions, including the presumption against short sentences, automatic early release from custody, and a concerted shift to custodial alternatives, have resulted in too many violent offenders evading custodial sentences; further believes that the Scottish Government’s strategy of sending fewer convicted offenders to prison and letting them out of prison earlier poses a risk to public safety; notes that prison officers are subject to unacceptable levels of physical and mental harm and abuse in Scottish prisons, which is fuelled by a failure to tackle illicit drugs and serious organised crime in prisons; further notes that the recorded quarterly number of police officers stands at 17,117, the lowest level since 2009; calls for Police Scotland to be afforded the necessary capital and resource budget that it clearly requested in submissions to the Criminal Justice Committee, which it states will ensure vital and necessary upgrades to infrastructure, the police estate, vehicles and ICT systems, allowing Police Scotland to ensure that violent criminals are caught, charged and successfully prosecuted; recognises that the current court backlog in Scotland could take at least five or more years to clear, leaving victims waiting years to get justice; notes with concern the growing breakdown of relations between the legal sector and the Scottish Government due to disagreements over legal aid fees, which may leave many without adequate access to justice and legal assistance; believes that non-custodial alternatives to sentencing must be meaningful, robust, and backed up by sufficient resources to command public confidence whilst delivering justice to the victims of crimes, which many do not currently believe to be the case; notes with disappointment the slow progress in reform to the dual role of the Lord Advocate, and regrets recent high profile cases of malicious prosecution, which have cost the taxpayer millions of pounds, and believes that the raft of measures to enhance the rights and voices of victims of crime and their families, as included in the proposed Victims, Criminal Justice and Fatal Accident Inquiries (Scotland) Bill, should be agreed by the Parliament as positive proposals to reset the balance of Scottish justice in favour of victims and their families.” 15:26...