THE Scottish Tories have been accused of playing “political games” in criticising Scotland’s “soft-touch justice” policies – as it emerged their UK bosses plan to introduce virtually identical policies south of the Border.
Criminals in England and Wales sentenced to less than a year in prison will be recommended to be punished with community service rather than jail time, under new plans unveiled in the King’s Speech on Tuesday.
The plans mirror those introduced by the SNP in 2019 which guide judges to sentence offenders they would otherwise jail for less than 12 months to serve their sentences “in the community”.
The Scottish Tories have frequently criticised the policies in Holyrood and when it was introduced in Scotland in 2019, then Tory justice spokesperson Liam Kerr said the Government was "taking a risk with the safety of the public".
On the same day as the proposals were unveiled in the UK Parliament, Scottish Tory justice spokesperson Russell Findlay (below) was quoted in a story in the Scottish Daily Express about falling numbers of people being sent to prison.
He told the paper: “These figures yet again confirm that victims of serious crimes are being failed by the SNP's weak justice agenda which puts the interests of criminals first.”
The article was published around the same time as documents released from Downing Street outlining the Government’s legislative wish list for the coming year showed the Tories wanted to pursue similar policies in England and Wales.
A new Sentencing Bill will “introduce a presumption in favour of a suspended sentence for custodial sentences of 12 months or fewer”.
Both policies give judges the discretion to impose a prison sentence if they feel it appropriate.
The SNP said Westminster had “taken note” of the Scottish Government’s policies.
Alison Thewliss (above) , the party’s home affairs spokesperson, said: “The UK government is adopting Scotland's approach to community sentences for criminals sentenced to less than 12 months in jail – because they know it is the right thing to do.
"Whilst the Scottish Tories play political games by attacking SNP policy that is working in Scotland, their bosses in Westminster have taken note and are working to implement a similar approach.
"Meanwhile, the Scottish Government will continue to legislate on behalf of the Scottish people, working to create a more just and fair society.
"The only way to guarantee that all of Scotland's policies are decided by Holyrood – and not by Westminster governments we don't vote for – is with the full powers of independence.”
Maggie Chapman, the Scottish Greens’ justice spokesperson, said: "We know that prison is not a safe place.
“It is not safe for those who are incarcerated, including women and others who have themselves experienced violence and abuse.
“And it is not safe for society, for communities and families receiving people leaving prison.
"For the sake of those communities, rehabilitation and reintegration need to be deep-rooted realities, not pious pipedreams. Prison makes that much, much harder.
"It is not ‘soft’ then, to demand more effective forms of justice.
“Community-based sentences can make the process of rehabilitation and reintegration much better. They can reduce the harm to both the perpetrators of crime and their families and communities.
"For too long, the criminal justice system has been failing: victims, survivors, perpetrators and their families. We should all be striving to do better."
The Scottish Conservatives have insisted they remain steadfast in their opposition to community sentencing, saying the policy is “failing at every turn”.
A spokesperson for the party said: “This is pathetic from the SNP. If they trusted their own community sentence regime so much they wouldn’t have written off a quarter of a million hours of community work as Humza Yousaf did in January 2021.
“Criminals have been let off lightly with bird-box making as part of their ‘punishments’ in community sentences under the SNP, while there is also a shocking level of absenteeism among the offenders.
“Community sentencing is failing at every turn and it is time the SNP stopped insulting victims and ensured proper work is fulfilled.”
