Meeting of the Parliament 08 December 2015
Okay—I believe you, of course.
Alex Salmond raised the issue of tackling the knife culture. There is no doubt that there has been a massive reduction in knife crime in Scotland since 2006-07. In parts of west central Scotland, there have been massive reductions of more than 50 per cent in that period. A huge amount of that has come about through policing, engagement programmes such as the no knives, better lives programme, and the violence reduction unit—the tremendous work of John Carnochan and Karyn McCluskey has changed perceptions and communities.
The report of the advisory group on stop and search quotes John Carnochan as saying:
“I believe now is the time to Police our communities a little differently. When the medication works and the patient’s condition is stabilised or even improves we don’t usually increase the dosage; that would be a waste of time, energy and resource and it often makes the patient worse. Now is the time for all agencies, including the Police, to engage with the communities, particularly the young people in our poorest areas in a positive way to help prevent violence. It was these young people who received by far the largest dose of the stop search medicine. It is them who have shown most improvement on this course of treatment. They now need help to stay healthy and violence free. Good community policing can help that happen.”
John Carnochan got that right.
Our provisions on stop and search will not prevent the police from stopping individuals whom they think might be carrying offensive weapons in order to search those people. The police will still be able to target the approach; the only thing that is ending is the non-statutory provision for that. I want knife crime to continue to decrease in this country, as I am sure that all members do. I am confident that we will achieve that.
When I came into post, I was conscious that it would be challenging to get a consensus in the Parliament on the bill. I hope that all members agree that the bill is balanced and effective in addressing the need for improvement in our criminal justice system and that it will help to deliver a modernised approach to various elements of the system. I call on all members to take the opportunity to support this important bill and continue the modernisation of our criminal justice system.