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Are you confident that it will be rolled out within a year?

That probably leads to more questions because we have lower police numbers and, for some crimes, they say that there is no evidence that they can follow, so the crimes are not getting investigated. That might mean that there is no DNA to follow, because the police have not taken fingerprints for a minor crime. That would perhaps open up more questions for me.

I will try to be as succinct as possible.

My question is on the impact of legislation and the costs surrounding that, cabinet secretary. Will the Scottish Government provide any funding to cover the costs arising from the further implementation of the Bail and Release from Custody (Scotland) Act 2023?

The lowering numbers of police officers are well documented. There was a commitment to put 1,000 more on our streets. Do you have any optimism that we can get back to the 17,496 officers that we had in 2013? I ask that given the antisocial behaviour that we have seen on the streets recently, such as around bonfire night.

Good morning. I want to go back to your opening remarks. You mentioned that the biometrics of children are taken only in the case of a violent or sexual offence, or by exception. Will you expand on that a wee bit, and will you tell me the age classification for “children”?

Last night, some of my colleagues and I took part in a debate in the chamber about the huge rise in antisocial behaviour. A lot of it is caused by youths—children and young people under the age of 24. What age would you class as that of a young person? If you are not taking those details, how are you monitoring whether someone is a repeat offender before the problem escalates and the person commits a violent or sexual offence, perhaps because we have not taken action earlier?

That is confusing.

We hear from police officers that they are stressed and need more numbers. They obviously feel undervalued. At the moment, salary negotiations are going on for them. Has that process been accounted for in the budget? Do our police officers deserve a better offer than the one that is on the table?

Good morning, cabinet secretary. The SPS advised the committee that it was in discussions with the Scottish Government over an additional in-year funding requirement of £20 million this year. Will you give us an update on whether that will be available for the SPS?

Partly—I might have more questions on that. At what stage would you take biometric data?

In its evidence, the SPS also said that it was carrying out its own pilot for body-worn cameras. It stated that early signs indicate that the pilot has impacted staff safety. Obviously, with high prisoner numbers, that is really important. If the pilot is successful once it is complete, SPS would require to make a budgetary submission to the Scottish Government. Has the SPS had any conversations with you about the pilot and the budgetary request? If so, do you expect to be able to give it to the SPS in next year’s budget?