Meeting of the Parliament 20 February 2025
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the debate on this important subject, and I welcome the establishment of the independent review.
I agree with what others have said about the chair and the other members of the review, and I particularly welcome the inclusion of David Mackie, whom I have had the privilege of dealing with on a number of occasions. I pay tribute to the work that he has done on the prevention of crime since retiring as a sheriff.
I hope that the establishment of the review will mean that the people who undertake the work will have access to all the data that is available across the Government and more widely, and that they will be able to commission the procurement of any data that they require. That is an important part of making sure that the review is a success, and I know that prominent academics such as Professor Lesley McAra would emphasise that point.
Of course, the review is happening because the current situation that we find ourselves in collectively is extremely challenging, with the number of people in our prisons exceeding 8,300 last year, and there is a need for action.
As part of that, the Government’s commitment to provide significant further investment in community justice in the budget, which I hope that Parliament will pass on Tuesday, is important. I hope that that will be part of a continuing increase in that budget, because the evidence that we heard at the Criminal Justice Committee in favour of increased investment in the criminal community justice part of the portfolio suggests that it can only help us in the collective challenge of reducing reoffending and reducing instances of crime.
The third sector is also referenced in the Government’s motion. I cannot, on the basis of my constituency experience, emphasise enough how important its role is in the collective challenge. The support that Fresh Start, Circle Scotland, Turning Point and other groups based in my constituency provide to those who are leaving prison and the families of those who are either in prison or leaving prison is important in making sure that we tackle the challenge of reoffending, break the cycle and have throughcare in place. I know that the review will look at that issue.
One question that I wanted to pose—I am sure that it will be under consideration by the Government and the review—concerns housing. Over the years, I have had a great amount of casework involving single men who have left prison coming to my constituency surgeries or writing to me about the challenges that they are experiencing—I note that Edinburgh’s housing crisis is the most acute in Scotland. How do we improve the housing offering for individuals in that situation and make sure that that is part of their support?
The other challenge, which is part of the immediate issue but is also about how we build a better situation in the future, is why so many people end up in prison and engaging in crime. In line with the Christie principles, which we collectively committed to 10 years ago, we need to ask how we mitigate the social and economic circumstances that have been referred to that contribute to a situation in which individuals engage in crime.
We still have an issue in Scotland with a culture of violence. As I have raised in Parliament in recent times, I am particularly concerned about our young people in that regard. Greater opportunities for sport, third sector engagement and youth work will make a difference in reducing the prison population in the future.
We could say a lot more on the topic, and I hope that, in future debates, we will have more time to talk about challenging and serious issues of the rule of law in our society, as well as prevention and rehabilitation.