News In Focus
31 August 2010
MacAskill reaffirms "community payback" approach
Swift and effective community payback offers the opportunity to turn round Scotland's historically high reoffending rate, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said today.
Mr MacAskill was commenting on newly published figures for Reconviction rates in Scotland: 2006-07 and 2007-08 offender cohorts, which show that 72% of those sentenced to a custodial term of six months or less in 2006-07 reoffended within two years. The equivalent figure for those sentenced to three months or less was 73%, whereas only 25% of those discharged from a sentence of four years or more had reoffended within two years.
The Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010, just passed by the Scottish Parliament, contains measures designed to prevent the use of sentences of three months or less. Ministers had wanted the policy to apply to sentences of under six months but had to modify it to secure sufficient parliamentary support.
Overall the two-year reconviction rate was slightly down, from 44.9 to 44%, still within the band of 42.5-45.3% that it has occupied since 1999. For those receiving community service it was 42%, and for those given a money penalty it was 40%.
Mr MacAskill said the statistics supported the Scottish Government's emphasis on a system of immediate and robust community penalties which are a credible alternative to custody.
He commented: "These figures simply underline what we already know – that nearly three-quarters of those sentenced to less than six months in prison go on to gain further convictions within two years of release. By contrast, nearly three out of five of those sentenced to community service have a clean record after a similar time.
"The key to breaking the cycle of reoffending can be found in these statistics. Short sentences simply don't work for low level offenders. They are both ineffective and of no practical benefit to communities. That is the view shared by a wide range of experts – and, it seems, the new UK Government.
"That is why we are creating a community payback order – giving sheriffs the ability to send low level offenders out into the community to pay back through hard work. The order also allows for drug or alcohol interventions to be targeted at the offender – particularly important if we are to break the link between drink and drugs and crime."