SENIOR POLICE SLAM OPPOSITION’S JUSTICE POLICY.

SENIOR POLICE SLAM OPPOSITION’S JUSTICE POLICY.

LABOUR AND TORIES OUT OF TOUCH WITH POLICE ON JUSTICE POLICY

Commenting on articles in the Holyrood Magazine where senior police officers and the Tories’ new recruit from Labour criticise opposition parties opportunistic stance on knife crime sentencing SNP MSP Angela Constance – a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee – said the comments illustrated how both Labour and the Tories are out of touch and out of their depth on justice policy.

The magazine also exposes Richard Baker’s motivations as purely opportunistic with no grounding in professional opinion.

Quoted in Holyrood Magazine Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan – who was appointed by the previous Labour-led Executive as head of the Violence Reduction Unit – said “mandatory sentences don’t work and that’s the reason I don’t support them.”

And in the magazine’s online edition the Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police, Stephen House, also came out in opposition to the plans.

The article also embarrasses the Tory leader Annabel Goldie as their new recruit from Labour, Paul McBride QC, says it is a ‘misnomer’ to call their policy a mandatory sentence.

Commenting Ms Constance said:

"Detective Chief Superintendent Carnochan is a respected police officer who knows what he's talking about. Opposition parties should drop their posturing and listen to the people whose job it is to deal with Scotland's knife crime problem on a daily basis and who are doing an excellent job making Scotland's communities safer.

“The underlying fact is that mandatory sentencing has no support amongst those at the frontline and in the courtrooms. It is a policy which ignores professional opinion.

“Detective Chief Superintendent Carnochan's comments expose the utter opportunism of both Labour and the Tory justice policies. When one of Scotland's leading police officers and the Tories own legal advisor say mandatory sentences either don't work or are not possible it's time opposition parties dropped their posturing and focussed on the serious policies that will change Scotland's knife culture.

"Both Labour and the Tories have been claiming they will introduce mandatory sentences but the Tories prize QC Paul McBride says that is just not possible

“Richard Baker’s assertion that the public would rather listen to him than the police man in charge of tackling Scotland's violent crime is simply breathtaking in it's arrogance.

"It’s patently clear that areas of Scotland are blighted by violence and that's why the Scottish Government is already taking the tough action needed on those who carry and use knives by doing more than ever before.

"Jail terms for knife carrying have already increased by a third and Courts have been given powers recently to impose four year sentences just for carrying a knife.

“And our proposed Sentencing Council can take a considered look at sentencing for knife offences - taking into account the views of the public, victims, and police.


“In contrast, the Tories and Labour are all over the place and standing against proper sentencing guidelines across the board to ensure that the punishment fits the crime. We want to give victims and police a voice to ensure that the punishment always fits the crime.”