What Scotland's political parties have planned for law and order
Parties on the left and right pledge to tackle law and order - here’s what they have to say
Exactly as voters would expect, the parties of the Scottish right are determined to look tough on law and order.
While crime and courts have not been a main focus of the Holyrood’s campaigns, there have certainly been plenty of law and order talking points.
The issue of early release was a controversial stumbling block for the SNP in the last parliamentary term, as was prison overcrowding.
The Scottish government was embroiled in court action by For Women Scotland on its failure to produce clear single-sex guidelines for prisons.
And workload of frontline police officers was raised time and again.
So what do the parties plan to do to tackle the biggest issues facing Scotland’s crime and justice systems?
Sentencing
The Conservatives are talking tough on crime. They plan to bring in stricter sentences for sex offenders and mandatory life terms for child rapists.
For serial shoplifters and people committing anti-social behaviour they would bring in a "three-convictions-and-it's-jail" policy.
Russell Findlay campaigned last year on the issue of killers who refuse to reveal the whereabouts of their victims’ bodies and the Tories promise they would bring in a “no body, no parole” rule in response.
They would also scrap automatic early release for all prisoners and bring in whole life tariffs that would lead to some murderers dying in jail.
Scottish Labour would block bail for anyone with a history of violence against women. They also plan to scrap the current sentencing guidelines for under-25s to move towards parity for all accused, regardless of age.
The Scottish Greens are taking a more progressive approach to justice with a bid to expand the presumption against short prison sentences and increased funding for rehabilitation and alternatives to custody.
They would also bring in a legal presumption against remand.
Alex Cole-Hamilton’s party’s liberal approach to justice would aim to reduce re-offending with improved prisoner education and robust community sentences.
In its “bonfire of the quangos”, Reform UK said it would scrap the Scottish Sentencing Council - although the SCC is not technically a quango - and introduce increased prison sentences for repeat offenders.
Prison estate
The SNP’s plans to ease pressures on the prison estate are already under way. They say they will fund two new prisons in the new parliamentary term - but the replacement for Barlinnie and the new Inverness jail are already under construction.
Russell Findlay’s party said it would fast-track new “no frills” prisons and extend the current estate. The Tories also want to send Scottish prisoners overseas, despite the cost of doing so and the human rights implications.
Reform UK says it wants to lock more people up and for longer. But the only mention of the prison estate in its manifesto is that it plans to increase prison capacity to end early release.
It doesn’t say anything about how it will achieve this aim but says increased prison capacity will “unclog the justice system as a whole”.
The Lib Dems say they will complete “the long-overdue replacement of integral parts of the prison estate.
Policing pressures
Diverting police away from mental health call outs and using community health features across manifestos.
The SNP said they would expand the use of "mental health triage cars”. This, John Swinney’s party claims, would reduce the workload on the police from calls involving people in distress.
Scottish Labour wants to give every neighbourhood a named community and crime prevention officer.
They would also pull police officers from court appearances and mental health calls to give them more time to spend on frontline work.
Reform UK has a theme across policy areas of saying that its proposed tax cuts would give workers - from doctors and nurses to teachers - more money in their pockets and thus make them more productive.
It has the same approach to policing pressures, saying its economic plan would give cops better take home pay and therefore improve retention in the workforce.
Reform also says it will reduce police workload but doesn’t specify how.
Men in female prisons
Despite the issue of single-sex spaces in prisons being a strong talking point - and an issue Reform UK takes a strong line on - there is no mention in its manifesto.
The SNP, unsurprisingly, skips this topic too. Ditto the Scottish Greens - but they plan to introduce a Misogyny and Criminal Justice Bill.
The Lib Dems don’t mention this either. The Tories say they would ensure “women and girls have access to single-sex spaces throughout the public sector, including hospitals, schools and prisons”.
The children’s hearings system
The Promise - the root and branch overhaul of the care system in Scotland - is still partway through and will take continued political pressure to see pledges delivered to enhance the lives of care experienced people in Scotland.
The children’s hearings system, a vital part of the care and justice system for the country’s children, is also undergoing major changes.
No party has made any pledges around children’s hearings reform.
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