The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 1639 contributions
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 12 January 2022
Russell Findlay
Finally, I just want to respond to something that Mr Brown said. It is inevitable that, as soon as you close down one route, another one opens—that is the nature of the beast. However, that does not mean that it was wrong to take the action that has been taken. Is the perimeter fence issue now the subject of greater attention from the Prison Service?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 12 January 2022
Russell Findlay
Hello, Ms Medhurst and Mr Brown. Happy new year to you both.
Etizolam has been rife in prisons for quite some time. Prison officers tell us that a lot of etizolam has been smuggled in through items of mail, which is why the decision has been taken to stop the use of that route.
I was fascinated to hear of the dramatic drop-off in the number of ambulances that have been called to prisons since 13 December 2021, which is consistent with the feedback that I have received. I have also been told that the number of mail items coming into prison has dropped off dramatically. Is that, indeed, the case? If so, is that the case in individual prisons or across the estate? If that is correct, does that tell us anything about the prevalence of etizolam in the mail? That is perhaps a question for Teresa Medhurst.
11:15Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 12 January 2022
Russell Findlay
Thank you. I will hand back to the convener.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 12 January 2022
Russell Findlay
I have a question in relation to the memorandum of understanding with Police Scotland. In the cabinet secretary’s opening remarks, I think that he said that the MOU was now in place and that suspected drug-soaked items were being taken away by the police as a matter of routine. However, under questioning from Jamie Greene, the situation became less clear—forgive me if I have misheard. I seek clarification on that point.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 12 January 2022
Russell Findlay
As the cabinet secretary pointed out, the measure has already benefited vulnerable prisoners who do not want to be in an environment where drugs are taken and they have to face the violence and disruption that goes along with that. I have read the submission that a group of academics made to the committee. Does Mr Brown know whether they consulted staff about their concerns?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 22 December 2021
Russell Findlay
It is interesting to hear that 70 per cent of High Court cases are about crimes of a sexual nature, and about the disproportionate impact on female victims. In a recent interview, Lord Advocate, you suggested that
“sexual crime requires a different and distinct approach”.
Can you explain what you would like that to be?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 22 December 2021
Russell Findlay
There is strong resistance from criminal defence lawyers to judge only trials. One concern is that, instead of a jury of their peers trying somebody, the accused would be in front of a usually male, white, middle-aged and privately educated lawyer. What do you say to that specific concern and those lawyers who are very vocal about the issue? Are you trying to persuade them? Finally—I suppose that it is a three-part question—have you seen any evidence in the profession of a male-female split in relation to that view, given that it relates primarily to crimes of a sexual nature?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 22 December 2021
Russell Findlay
My question is on a similar theme—that of support for victims and witnesses.
Lord Advocate, I think that you said in your opening remarks that you had tasked Lindsey Miller with reviewing the Crown’s victim information and advice service. Does its ability to help victims and witnesses not boil down entirely to decisions that you make about your budget? In other words, the primary function of the Crown is to prosecute crime—ergo, that takes up by far the biggest slice of your budget. Given the chronic backlogs, funds for victim information will always be a secondary consideration. Do you agree? If so, can anything be done about that?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 22 December 2021
Russell Findlay
I am reassured by the commitment from you both that plea deals will be taken only in the public interest and the interests of justice. However, the case that I referenced was not unusual and, from the conversation that I had with your colleagues who prosecute in the lower courts, my understanding is that there is not a mechanism to routinely inform complainers about plea deals. That is perhaps because of the volume of work. It might be that that was more likely for the Lord Advocate in her day when she was prosecuting in the higher courts because she was prosecuting fewer cases, albeit more serious ones. Thank you for your answers.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 22 December 2021
Russell Findlay
Separate but connected to that is the not proven verdict. Do you have a view on whether not proven should be scrapped? Do you have a view on whether, instead of “guilty” and “not guilty”, the two verdicts should be “proven” and “not proven”?