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Displaying 1266 contributions
Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Meeting date: 27 April 2023
Collette Stevenson
Stephanie Millar will be our final speaker on theme 3.
Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Meeting date: 27 April 2023
Collette Stevenson
That is a good point.
I thank all the witnesses for their evidence. I am probably commenting on behalf of the whole committee when I say that what stood out for me was the fact that it is heartening to hear the voices of the people who are in need and need to be heard. Thank you for all your invaluable contributions. We will take them all on board. If you have not had a chance to raise something with the committee today, you are more than welcome to follow up by writing to us.
10:43 Meeting continued in private until 11:35.Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Meeting date: 27 April 2023
Collette Stevenson
I have no relevant interests to declare.
Social Justice and Social Security Committee
Meeting date: 27 April 2023
Collette Stevenson
I call Morna Simpkins.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 26 April 2023
Collette Stevenson
I echo what everyone else has said. We have done a brilliant piece of work in opening up the issue and listening to some of the officers who have gone through such a traumatic time in their lives.
Paragraph 9 on page 2 of the paper on policing and mental health relates to how the redesign of the scheduling system in the courts is progressing. It looks to me like Police Scotland is having to wait for some kind of response from the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service. Work-life balance is a huge issue. We heard in numerous evidence sessions about the impact that time taken has on other officers’ ability to get their days off. It is huge. We need to push the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and the SCTS to see how the redesign is progressing.
When we attended Glasgow Sheriff Court, there was a bit of pushback about remote access for trials. I do not know whether redesign is getting pushback, but I would be keen to find out more about that. We have just been talking about budgets. Notwithstanding police officers’ mental health, there is efficiency in a smarter way of working if officers access trials remotely.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 29 March 2023
Collette Stevenson
Good morning, Linda. Thank you for coming along and sharing your story, despite the trauma that you are still experiencing. Your research is absolutely amazing, and it is heartening to hear that it might have an impact on young people who are affected by the justice system in the future. Thank you for that.
You touched on the idea of therapeutic pathways for young people who go through the justice system. I do not know whether you had the opportunity to hear it, but we have had evidence from St Mary’s Kenmure, which provides secure accommodation, about the therapeutic milieu in secure care. What could that look like? How can we check to see how well it is working for young people? Should it be regulated so that we can see how young people are progressing, especially in serious cases in which young people are transitioning to young offenders institutions? I would like to know your thoughts about what that should look like for our young people.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 29 March 2023
Collette Stevenson
Thank you. My next question was going to be about preparing the young person and the trajectory and pathway for that. Do you think that, depending on the sentence or disposal that they get, we would be setting them back as far as their transition is concerned by putting them in a young offenders institution?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 29 March 2023
Collette Stevenson
Good morning. You are all in agreement about not having young people in young offenders institutions or adult prisons, which is good to hear. I will touch on secure accommodation and what the definition of it is. Why do you feel that secure accommodation is better than putting somebody into a young offenders institution? Are they secure and what should that environment look like, ideally? Pauline McNeill has alluded to the fact that there are not enough of those places.
I have six people to choose from and do not know who to start with. Does anyone have a strong opinion on that?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 29 March 2023
Collette Stevenson
Yes.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 29 March 2023
Collette Stevenson
It is indeed. Thank you.