Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 20 January 2011
20 Jan 2011 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Scottish Executive Question Time
Scottish Court Service (Weapons)
Justice and Law Officers
The term “weapon” has been taken to mean any form of knife—the most prevalent being lock knives, penknives, kitchen knives and Stanley knives—along with scissors, loose blades for Stanley knives, open razors, razor blades and knitting needles. The number of weapons seized by the Scottish Court Service was 311 in 2007, 1,518 in 2008, 1,937 in 2009 and 2,030 last year.
It is likely that the rise in confiscation figures can be attributed to improved security in courts, improved recording and reporting activity, greater awareness among staff, and more frequent sharing of security intelligence between justice partners. The discovery by staff of any weapon or potential weapon is immediately reported to the police, who have a presence and responsibility for public order in all our court buildings, and successful prosecutions have resulted from the Scottish Court Service’s security arrangements.
It is likely that the rise in confiscation figures can be attributed to improved security in courts, improved recording and reporting activity, greater awareness among staff, and more frequent sharing of security intelligence between justice partners. The discovery by staff of any weapon or potential weapon is immediately reported to the police, who have a presence and responsibility for public order in all our court buildings, and successful prosecutions have resulted from the Scottish Court Service’s security arrangements.
In the same item of business
Andy Kerr (East Kilbride) (Lab)
Lab
5. To ask the Scottish Executive how many knives and other weapons have been seized by the Scottish Court Service since 2007. (S3O-12646)
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Kenny MacAskill)
SNP
The term “weapon” has been taken to mean any form of knife—the most prevalent being lock knives, penknives, kitchen knives and Stanley knives—along with scis...
Andy Kerr
Lab
I welcome the initiatives that have been taken to ensure that weapons are confiscated and people are brought to justice as a result. However, we know that, i...
Kenny MacAskill
SNP
I practised in the criminal courts in Scotland for 20 years and, during that period, which ended almost 12 years ago, security measures such as metal detecto...
Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
What would have been the impact on the seizure of knives and other weapons if mandatory sentencing, as proposed by some parties, had been introduced? How wou...
Kenny MacAskill
SNP
As I said, it is clear that significant progress has been made. The member is correct to point out that significant and substantial progress has been made in...