News In Focus
17 July 2007
Drink not an excuse, says Justice Secretary
A review of the law to make clear to drunk offenders that alcohol will not be seen as a mitigating factor in their crimes is to be launched by the Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill.
Mr MacAskill will be speaking to 200 delegates today at the World Health Organisation's international conference on tackling violence in Tulliallan, Fife.
Mr MacAskill will say it is time for Scotland to change its 'bevvy' culture - and for the criminal justice system to leave those who do behave like this in no doubt that they, rather than alcohol, will be held responsible.
High court judgements since the 1980s have set out under common law that alcohol should not be regarded as a mitigating factor in violent crimes.
Mr MacAskill said: "We in Scotland have a cultural problem with alcohol. Too many Scots think it acceptable to drink to get drunk. Abused partners. Random assaults. Stabbings. Vandalism. The impact is there for all to see - on the streets, in police stations, in hospital emergency departments, and in the courts.
"High Court judgements since the 1980s have made clear in common law that alcohol should not be regarded as a mitigating factor in crimes, yet drink and disorder still appear together in the dock as partners in crime.
"The most recent statistics show that seven out of 10 of those accused of murder in Scotland had been drinking or on drugs. Nearly half of Scotland's 7,000 prisoners say they were drunk at the time they committed their offence."
The Justice Secretary says the time is now right to review whether the message from the high court was being heard clearly enough.
He added: "I have asked my officials to look at the current position to see how we can use a future Criminal Justice Bill to make a clear statement in law that being drunk will simply not be accepted in courts as an excuse for bad behaviour.
"The old excuse 'that it was the drink that did it' is still being trotted out far too often in Scotland. I want to say categorically that, 'no, it wasn't the drink, it was you that did it'. We now accept this when it comes to drinking and driving. We need now to accept it in all areas of life whether assaults or loutish behaviour
"So its time to remove the tired excuses from our national vocabulary, and for drunk offenders to expect a sobering experience every time they land in our courts. The drink is not an excuse."