Death of Pope John Paul II
First Minister Jack McConnell, reacting to the death of John Paul II at the Vatican in Rome on Saturday, said:

"Pope John Paul will be sadly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Roman Catholic community at this difficult time.

"Most Scots have fond memories of his visit to Scotland in 1982 when he captured the heart of the nation.

"He was a humble and compassionate man, who led the Roman Catholic Church with wisdom and humanity, and his courage in the face of his growing infirmity was inspirational. His passing will leave a big gap on the world stage."

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GREENOCK PILOTS Community Reparation Orders
A new sentencing option which forces offenders to make amends for antisocial behaviour by doing unpaid community work is available for the first time from today in courts in Inverclyde and Inverness.

Community Reparation Orders (CROs) were introduced by the Executive as part of the Antisocial Behaviour Scotland Act.  They can be used to deal with relatively low-level antisocial crimes which are heard without a jury in the District and Sheriff Courts.

They focus specifically on making reparation for antisocial behaviour by providing between 10 to 100 hours of unpaid work.  The option is being piloted in courts in Inverclyde, Inverness and Dundee - it will be available in Dundee later this month.

CROs will expand the existing range of community disposals. Existing disposals with a restorative element are either high tariff, for example community service orders, or designed to deal with a specific group, such as supervised attendance orders for fine defaulters.  A statutory duty will be imposed on local authorities - who will be responsible for supervising the order - to consult with the appropriate local community agencies and organisations as to the nature of the reparation undertaken by offenders.  This consultation will be on general principles and not specific to individual cases.

Pilots are running at Inverness Sheriff and District Courts and Kingussie and Nairn District Courts; at Dundee Sheriff and District Courts and at Greenock Sheriff Court and Inverclyde District Court. They will run for two years and will be evaluated throughout. The evaluation will inform any decision about making the disposal available more widely.

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