On Friday, Scottish Secretary Michael Forsyth challenged the Opposition Parties to supporthis 'Crime and Punishment' Bill. I will be going through this Bill line by line, and willconsider it carefully, but I will not support a Bill that I have real and serious concernsabout. These concerns were raised in our response to the White Paper in July, and ifMichael Forsyth had read this response he would know that unless the Bill was vastlydifferent from the Paper, which it is not, he would not receive the backing of the SNP.

The degree, level and source of the criticism that was firstly levelled at Forsyth's WhitePaper - and now at the Bill - is evidence that is misplaced, misguided meddling. The PrisonServices, Law Society, and Judges have all criticised Forsyth's plans, which have more to dowith following an English agenda than addressing issues of law and order in Scotland.

The fact that some of what is proposed is a reversal of laws made very recently is evidencethat the Government do not know what they are doing in the area of criminal justice. Forexample, Forsyth is making an about-turn on remission laws that are only three years old,and which were themselves brought in after two years of careful study.

The Scottish judicial system is not safe in Westminster's hands, and our distinctive andrespected legal system should not be left in the care of meddling Westminster politicians.

There has been a total failure to deal with crime in Scotland. We have a high level ofre-offending, with 90 per cent of people entering prison having committed a previousoffence, and we have the second highest prison population in western Europe, costingtaxpayers an annual £26,479 per prisoner.

"The Scottish Courts service predicts that the total workload of the courts will increase by15 per cent over the next three years - before the extra workload which this Bill and theChildren Act will bring to our courts. This is at the same time as the Scottish Office hasdecreased funding by £3 million, or 4.5 per cent.

I also have grave concerns about calls to increase the number of crimes which receive amandatory sentence. Mandatory sentencing erodes the independence of the judiciary bydestroying the ability of the judge to take account of the circumstances of the crime. Scotland has been served well by the relationship of legislature as lawmaker and thejudiciary as sentence-setter, and this principle, if abandoned, would show the lack ofunderstanding about the constitutional importance of the separation of the judiciary and theexecutive.

Only an independent Scottish Parliament will have the understanding, resources and time todevote to the needs of the legal system in Scotland, introducing and scrutinising criminaljustice legislation which will create good and appropriate laws in Scotland, which commandthe confidence of public and professionals alike.

Roseanna Cunningham MP
SNP Justice and Equality Spokesperson
Scottish National Party


Roseanna Cunningham is the Member of Parliament for Perth and Kinross, she is also the Home Affairs Spokeperson for the Scottish National Party.

---

If you would like to know more about the SNP and HELP SCOTLAND contact snp.hq@snp.org.uk or visit the official the Scottish National Party web site.

_{Highlander Web Magazine
Copyright 1995/96 Catalyst (Highlands) Ltd.
Pages by Webspinner
admin@highlanderweb.co.uk}