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All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
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Displaying 1088 contributions
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 1 November 2023
Sharon Dowey
What are the barriers to implementing something like that now?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 1 November 2023
Sharon Dowey
I have one final question. Listening to the opening remarks, I noted that everybody is supportive of change. The comments were totally supportive and the organisations are absolutely committed. John Watt mentioned a complete review of the system, which I am totally in favour of. I agreed with his comments. He also talked about keeping victims informed so that nothing comes as a surprise, which seems to be one of the main things that causes trauma. Again, it seems to be more about processes and procedures than new legislation. Will bringing in the legislation hinder a review of the system, or will it help it?
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 1 November 2023
Sharon Dowey
I argue that that is because it is not reported.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 1 November 2023
Sharon Dowey
This one.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 1 November 2023
Sharon Dowey
I have one last question. You mentioned earlier that you interviewed 12 people, and you obviously have a lot of different examples. Do you think that the bill addresses the issues that were raised by the people you interviewed? There are a lot of practices and procedures. We have heard before that there has been a lot of change in other organisations, and they have managed to do that without legislation. Will the bill address the examples that you have, or could the other organisations do things through changes to their practices?
10:15Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 1 November 2023
Sharon Dowey
I agree with your comments: get it right at the beginning so that you get the right result at the end.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 1 November 2023
Sharon Dowey
Bill Fitzpatrick has touched on my point about outcomes. Going back to John Swinney’s last question, he mentioned figures for youth justice and the lower number of youths in custody, but I certainly get a lot more complaints in my inbox about the rise in antisocial behaviour and crime on the streets. It seems that the police say that their hands are tied in the action that they can take. What role would community justice have there? What action needs to be taken? Where are we failing in that respect? We say we have good measurements because we have fewer youths in custody, but crime out on the street seems to be on the rise. As far as outcomes go, that is not a good outcome.
12:45Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 1 November 2023
Sharon Dowey
No, but it was about focusing the resources that you have on the right areas.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 1 November 2023
Sharon Dowey
Okay. I go back to Bill Fitzpatrick’s point. Some of the organisations need to give us more evidence on the outcomes.
Criminal Justice Committee
Meeting date: 1 November 2023
Sharon Dowey
Dr Bruce, in your submission, you suggest that the definition of trauma-informed practice in the bill should be more fully aligned with the agreed consensus definition that is contained in the framework. Do you think that there are risks if we do not get the definition of “trauma-informed” right in the bill?