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Meeting of the Parliament 13 June 2012

13 Jun 2012 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Victims and Witnesses (Improving Services)

MacAskill, Kenny SNP Edinburgh Eastern Watch on SPTV

I am grateful for the opportunity to open the debate on making justice work for victims and witnesses. Under the Scottish Government’s making justice work programme, we are bringing forward the most radical reforms of our courts and tribunals for at least a century. The programme sets out a vision of Scotland’s justice system as one that is accessible, cost effective and efficient and where disputes and prosecutions are resolved quickly and fairly.

To create such a system, it is vital that we improve the support that is available to victims and witnesses. No one chooses to be a victim of crime, and the impact on people’s lives can go on long after the courts have moved on to other cases. Victims must be seen not as passive spectators or mere users of services but as people who have a legitimate interest in how the justice system operates.

Witnesses fulfil a vital civic duty, which must be recognised and treated as such. Without witnesses, there is no mechanism by which crimes can be investigated and prosecuted; no way of testing evidence; no way of ensuring that those who commit crimes are found guilty and punished appropriately; and no sense of community or society. Without witnesses, the justice system simply cannot operate. If witnesses are to come forward, they must feel confident that their contribution will be valued and, more important, that they will be supported.

That is why improving the experience of such individuals is at the heart of the making justice work programme. It is also why, in our manifesto and our programme for government, we committed to bring forward legislation during this session of Parliament to ensure that victims’ rights are central to improvements in our justice system and that witnesses can fulfil their public duty effectively.

Significant progress has already been made in this area, including some important legislative changes. For example, witnesses can now see their statements again before they give evidence; the courts can grant anonymity for witnesses in appropriate cases; in human trafficking cases, children up to the age of 18 have an automatic entitlement to standard special measures; and the coverage of the victim notification scheme, which used to apply to custodial sentences of four years or more, has been extended to custodial sentences of 18 months or more.

Although much has been done, much remains to be done. Today’s debate is an opportunity to explore some of that work, to debate the proposals that we put forward in our recent consultation paper, “Making Justice Work for Victims and Witnesses”, and to discuss any other measures that might improve the support that is available to victims and witnesses.

In developing our proposals, we have been guided by a number of basic principles, which I hope will receive broad support across the chamber. We believe that victims and witnesses should know what is going on in cases that affect them and should know what to expect in relation to proceedings, which should include knowing whether hearings will go ahead as planned. They should feel confident in coming forward, knowing that their personal safety will be protected, and they should be able to contribute effectively to cases that affect them. They should have access to appropriately tailored support before, during and after proceedings. In addition, we believe that offenders should pay for the injury, loss and distress that they have caused, when that is possible and appropriate.

Although it is inevitable that the current focus is on the proposed victims and witnesses bill, we should recognise that significant progress is already being made in realising those principles.

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Meeting of the Parliament 13 June 2012

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