New police powers revealed
3 Oct 05
Executive publishes Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill
The Police, Public Order and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill - which includes new measures to strengthen police effectiveness and improve community safety - is published today.
The bill includes measures such as:
- tackling knife crime by doubling the maximum penalty for carrying a knife in public from two to four years
- giving the police unconditional power to arrest someone suspected of carrying a knife, and increasing the minimum age for buying a non-domestic knife from 16 to 18
- introducing football banning orders to tackle football-related violence or sectarianism, racism or hatred, at football grounds or other flashpoints
- introducing mandatory drug testing and referral, on arrest, for anyone aged 16 or over, who is suspected of a drugs or drugs-related offence such as theft or shoplifting.
The bill will also strengthen a prosecutor's ability to encourage those accused of crimes to give information to them and the police about others involved in serious and organised crime.
It also proposes to establish a new Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) which will be directly responsible for providing a range of common police services across Scotland, such as a new national forensic science service. This will replace the the Scottish Police College and the Scottish Criminal Record Office.
Powers
Police powers are to be enhanced. Officers will have the authority to obtain someone's name and fingerprints while on the beat, and a police complaints commissioner will be established to investigate non-criminal complaints against the police.
The Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (formerly the SDEA) will be put on a statutory footing under its own director. This means that police offices can be directly recruited to serve in SCDEA. Until now, its officers were seconded from Scottish police forces.
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said: "Today's legislation will ensure the police also have the powers they need to meet the challenges of policing in the 21st century, such as football related violence and knife-related crime and disorder.
"We will also target the so-called 'Mr Bigs' of the crime world by encouraging those accused of crimes to give information and evidence to the police and prosecutors about others involved in serious and organised crime, in return for reduced sentences."
The full text of the bill can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/publications .