Keith Brown has produced a bold plan for the future of justice in Scotland.
His Vision for Justice promises to consider the individual and place the victim at the heart of the system.
The Justice Secretary also recognises Scotland must stop locking up more people per capita than any country in Western Europe.
Prison is there for the protection of the public, but too often it is used as a dumping ground for societal problems, for the addicted, the mentally ill and the vulnerable.
Especially in the case of women prisoners who too often have been subjected to coercion, violence and sexual abuse.
In terms of rehabilitation, prison is a failure in comparison to Community Payback Orders (CPOs).
Brown has promised he will reduce the prison population and more CPOs will be used by the courts. But the justice system must improve so sheriffs have the confi- dence to use them.
First and foremost the court backlogs must be cleared so victims and remand prisoners are not left in devastating limbo.
Brown must heed the concerns of organisations like Victim Support Scotland and reform the notification system, so victims are not shocked to find their rapist or the murderer of their loved one back on the streets.
It is the implementation of Brown’s Vision for Justice which will determine whether this strategy is transformative or a lame duck.
Peter Krykant’s crusading on drugs reform has earned him a reputation for getting things done.
The recovering heroin addict knows all about addiction – and the poverty, homelessness and despair that can follow. He also knows what we need to do if Scotland really does want to turn around our drug deaths crisis.
Krykant’s employer, Cranstoun, has put in a new proposal to run Overdose Prevention Centres (OPCs) in Scotland.
His ideas are sound, well thought through and would save lives.
Scotland’s drugs minister has already pledged to move fast to produce an OPC that can be run with the compliance of the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain and Police Scotland. But the latest soundings from the Scottish Government seem to suggest a lack of urgency.
With deaths still at record levels we surely need new and radical measures to get us out of this disaster.
There is no risk to life in opening facilities that are run along the right lines. All the risk lies with failing to act.
Whether it’s Peter Krykant’s model or an NHS-run OPC that emerges in Glasgow or Dundee, it needs to happen fast.
