31st
March 2008
Knife Crime: Minister Won’t Back Words
with Actions
MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan
McNeil, says Justice Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, must back up his words on knife
crime with actions.
Mr
McNeil spoke out after the Justice Secretary sought to avoid responsibility for
sentencing policy. In response to a
Parliamentary Question which Mr McNeil tabled, asking whether the Scottish
Government would impose mandatory custodial sentences for unlawful
knife-carrying, the Minister claimed it was up to the judiciary to decide.
Mr
McNeil said:
“This
is an abdication of responsibility. We
need some political leadership, not buck-passing.
“Mandatory
custodial sentences would be a powerful deterrent, helping divert young
offenders away from a spiral of offending which all-too-often ends in the
needless loss of life.
“The
Minister promises tough enforcement of the law by the police.
But what’s the point if offenders are let off with community service
when they get to court? Do they need to kill someone before they’ll get jailed?
“I
am deeply concerned that this government’s dangerous drive to empty the
prisons is putting our communities at risk.
Not content with letting more serious criminals out even earlier to serve
their sentences in the comfort of their living rooms, the government won’t
even jail dangerous knife-carriers in the first place.”
Mr
McNeil also questioned whether the Justice Secretary was taking demands for a
review of the law seriously:
“On
the one hand, the Minister says his mind is not closed to changing the law, but
in his next breath he says sentences have to be left for judges to decide.
Is there any value in a review of the law if he has already pre-judged
the outcome?”
The
full text of the Parliamentary Question and Answer reads:
Duncan McNeil (Greenock and Inverclyde) (Lab): “To ask the
Scottish Executive whether it will
introduce mandatory custodial sentences for the unlawful possession of a knife
or other bladed weapon.” (S3O-02828)
Mr Kenny MacAskill: “The
Scottish Parliament has shown itself willing to tackle the ‘booze and blade
culture’. We will send out a clear message to those who think it is acceptable
or cool to carry a knife that it's not.
“Educating
our young people, giving them more to do, and preventing them carrying a weapon
are fundamental if we want to see reduced levels of knife crime. But we will not
be soft. Tough enforcement by our police forces will continue to be a key part
of our efforts.
“We
are not closed to considering further legislative action, but believe judges are
best placed to make decisions about the most appropriate sentence, taking into
account in such cases all the factors they think are relevant.”
ENDS
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