Justice and Safety

  • The week in review

    26th January 2018 by

    This week’s round-up includes Justice Secretary, Michael Matheson’s visit to Craigroyston Community High School to see the impact a Cashback for Communities funded training session is having on the young people involved, the launch of Police Scotland’s national fraud awareness campaign #TakeFiveWeek, and the commencement of Part 1 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act. Cashback for Communities funding On...

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  • Justice Secretary praises law enforcement agencies for organised crime case

    26th January 2018 by

    Scottish Crime Campus Gartcosh

    Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson has hailed the work of Scotland’s police and prosecutors as members of an organised crime gang received Serious Crime Prevention Orders following earlier prison sentences. Following the sentencing on Monday this week at the High Court in Glasgow of nine men accused of being involved in serious organised crime, and...

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  • The week in review

    20th January 2018 by

    This week’s round-up includes Justice Secretary Michael Matheson’s visit to HM Prison Edinburgh, Police Scotland figures for reports of domestic abuse over the festive period and Community Safety & Legal Affairs Minister Annabelle Ewing’s visit to Coatbridge Fire Station to hear views about service transformation plans from frontline crews. No let-up in tackling domestic abuse On Monday Police Scotland reported that...

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  • Community Payback Orders: Fife Council’s drive to get the ‘Best’ from people on community sentences

    18th January 2018 by

    Best of You programme participants

    In December 2015, Fife Council Criminal Justice Social Work team was approached by Mark Brown, the founder and author of the award-winning programme ‘The Best of You’, to take part in a pilot of the programme aimed at people serving statutory orders such as Community Payback Orders (CPO), the main community sentence in Scotland. With 20 years of...

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  • Response to Justice Committee report on Bill to repeal OBFTC Act

    18th January 2018 by

    Minister for Community Safety Annabelle Ewing has responded to the stage 1 report on report on the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Repeal) (Scotland) Bill. She said:“The vast majority of football supporters are well-behaved and the Act is a clear statement that no section of society is exempt from standards and behaviours that...

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  • Last month in review

    12th January 2018 by

    Welcome back to the first blog post of the year. This week’s blog reflects on some highlights from the festive period. Tackling domestic abuse Late last year saw the announcement that around 14,000 Police Scotland officers and staff will receive further training to assess instances of psychological abuse and coercive control in domestic abuse cases....

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  • Message from the Justice Secretary to police and fire staff

    30th December 2017 by

    In my time as Justice Secretary, I have been continually struck by the sheer professionalism and dedication of Scotland’s firefighters, police officers and the staff that work with them. There is no doubt that 2017 has been a challenging year. There have been changes in leadership, with Susan Deacon starting in her new role as...

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  • The week in review

    22nd December 2017 by

    This week’s round-up includes a Christmas message from the Justice Secretary, Michael Matheson’s visit to a police call handling centre to see first hand the service they provide,  funding that will help improve services for victims of rape and sexual assault, an interim report looking into ways to improve UK building regulations and safety, and a summary...

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  • Christmas message from Justice Secretary to staff across the Scottish justice system

    19th December 2017 by

    This time of year often makes us think about spending time with families as we enjoy a few well-earned days off.  Let’s spare a thought for those who don’t always have Christmas morning with their kids or grandchildren; who won’t be sitting down to a turkey with loved ones on the 25th. The Scottish Prison...

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  • The week in review

    15th December 2017 by

    This week’s round-up includes some of the justice elements of the Scottish Government’s 2018-19 draft Budget announcement, a service to remember missing loved-ones and an international conference on policing hosted in Scotland. Investing in Justice and safety On Wednesday Cabinet Secretary for Finance & the Constitution Derek Mackay set out the Scottish Government’s draft budget...

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