SPEECH BY JUSTICE SECRETARY, KENNY MacASKILL MSP, TO SNP ANNUAL CONFERENCE

SPEECH BY JUSTICE SECRETARY, KENNY MacASKILL MSP, TO SNP ANNUAL CONFERENCE

SCOTTISH POLICE HAVE GOT WHAT IT TAKES TO TACKLE KNIFE CRIME

Speaking at the SNP’s 75th Annual conference in Inverness today (Friday) at the Eden Court Theatre, the Cabinet Secretary Justice , Kenny MacAskill MSP, announced that every police force in Scotland will be issued with new metal detectors in the effort to tackle knife crime.

Commenting Mr MacAskill said:

“Good afternoon delegates.

"We’re back in Inverness for another conference and some of that old-time religion.

"There’s some who accuse me of launching a temperance crusade. They seem to forget my own past form! You can rest assured you’ll be fine in the bars tonight.

"Seriously though, delegates, things have moved on significantly we last gathered here five years ago.

"We have grown as a Party and as a country.

"And this last year has been one in which we have celebrated our enduring links with the Scots Diaspora the world over.

"For me, that involved a visit to Canada and the particular challenges of wearing a kilt in temperatures of minus 28 degrees – the things we do in the line of duty!

"That visit to Toronto and Nova Scotia at the start of the year gave me the chance to reflect on our place in the wider world and the deep well of goodwill and affinity there is for Scotland around the globe.

"Let me repeat what I said on that visit to Nova Scotia and Toronto:

"..."It’s 387 years since Scottish settlers first landed in Canada, 236 years since the “The Hector” berthed in Nova Scotia and 250 years since the birth of our National Bard.

"Despite over 300 years of an incorporating union and but 10 years since the reconvening of Scotland’s Parliament our shared Scottish identity has survived.

"That is truly remarkable. Our common identity remains strong, not just across the North Atlantic, but around the world. It is truly exceptional that people have sought to retain this common bond when often they left with only an education.

"But whoever and however they came – they remembered the land they left behind.”

"Ladies and Gentlemen,

"I was proud to be able to convey those sentiments on behalf of the Government and people of Scotland. As I say, it is truly remarkable that so many still retain an affinity and an abiding affection for the land their forebears left, sometimes generations ago.

"Fellow delegates, I want to talk this afternoon about the strong and effective justice system we have in Scotland. Of course, neither “the boy” Baker nor “British bulldog” Bill Aitken let the facts get in the way of a good rammy.

"Their irresponsible opportunism was never better demonstrated than over the issue of inmates absconding from open prisons.

"Let’s be quite clear. We take any abscond very seriously indeed. But let’s look at the facts. In 1993, under a Conservative Government there were 95 absconds. In 2006-07, under a devolved Lib/Lab Government there were 79 absconds. In 2008-09, under the first ever SNP administration there were 16 absconds, a fifth the rate it was in the last year of the Labour administration and an eighth of what it was in the last year of the Tories.

"Action had to be taken and it was. A review was carried out by an eminent academic and former Governor and action will follow. But this Government’s record stands in stark comparison to theirs. That irresponsible oppositionism threatened the viability of the Open Estate - a fundamental part of the prison system, introduced by a Tory Government in the 1950s.

"But, I was proud to receive the support of the Prison Officers Association in Scotland.

"This year we have been continuing the policies that we embarked upon on election to office, underlining our pledge to make Scotland a stronger and safer country.

"And delegates, nothing could be more fundamental to the safety of our communities than a visible police presence in our communities, reassuring good citizens and deterring bad.

"That is why I am proud that this SNP Government has more than delivered on our manifesto commitment on police numbers. A little over two years since we took office, there are 1,044 more policemen and women than when we entered Government. Some of our opponents said we would never do it – but there we have it, two years ahead of schedule, an all-time record number of police officers in Scotland, delivered by this SNP Government.

"We are also making our communities safer by tackling the scourge of knife crime. My colleague Fergus Ewing has been acting throughout the year to address this most serious of issues.

"Tough laws. Longer sentences. And concerted action to break the culturethat afflicts too many of our towns and cities. But last year recorded crime fell to the lowest for nearly 30 years. Violent crime is down to the lowest level since 1986.

"And knife crime in 2008-09 was down 11 per cent from the level we inherited from Labour.

"In addition, over 250,000 stop and searches carried out, to prevent as well as prosecute.

"Today I can announce that we will be providing additional resources for every police force in Scotland to be able to carry out more effective searches to make our communities safer. Every police force will be provided with mobile scanners to detect knives and other weapons carried on the street.

"Not only have we established a Serious and Organised Crime Task Force, but we are bringing in new and tough laws. Taking on and taking down the Mr Bigs. Those who perpetrate evil in our communities are being detained and as well as punishing them, we are stripping them of their ill-gotten gains. We will not allow hard working Scots to be undermined by individuals or businesses that are either a front for, or built on, the profits of organised crime.

"And we are working towards a coherent penal policy, where prisons are for those who are a danger to our communities or commit a crime of such magnitude that no other sentence is appropriate. They should not, and will not, be free bed and board for those who perpetrate low level offences and who should pay back the harm they have done through the sweat of their brow. A new prison has been opened for those who have to be detained and significant resources have been put in to ensure that those who need to do a hard day’s work do so.

"And it’s not just the criminal law we are advancing and improving, but our civil jurisdiction. We have to drive our legal system forward into the 21st century when, after all, our senior Judges acknowledge that improvements can and must be made. Action is being taken to change the structures of the legal profession. And given the difficult economic times we face changes have been brought in to the legal aid scheme so that three quarters of all Scots are now eligible.

"And we delivered on our commitment on justice for those who suffer from pleural plaques. We weighed in the scales of justice the needs of our people who have suffered and the complaints of the insurers who objected. We are proud to have delivered justice for those who have suffered. And we also continue the battle against booze. Re-configuring Scotland’s unhealthy relationship with alcohol. When we first mentioned this several Conferences ago, we were accused of scare-mongering and, perish the thought, of me being over the top! Now it is accepted as the norm.

"We cannot go on as we are. Action needs to be taken and this Government is seeking to deliver it. We need to have responsibility in alcohol. In how it’s promoted. In how it’s priced. And in how it’s consumed. Action has already commenced on how it is promoted with new legislation which came in on 1st September this year.

"However, let’s be under no doubt that price is a factor. Cheap drink is not a right, but access to sports, arts and leisure must never be a luxury for our children. That’s why we continue with huge investment into the Cashback for Communities Scheme. Football. Rugby. Basketball. Music. Drama. There is something out there for every bairn rather than hanging around street corners drinking cheap hooch and getting into bother. Those who seek to defend the right to sell cheap, high-strength drink in our communities - irrespective of the harm it causes - should hang their heads in shame.

"Delegates, I consider it an absolute privilege to serve as Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Justice.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the Lockerbie bombing was the worst terrorist atrocity ever perpetrated not just in Scotland but in the British Isles.

"It will never be forgotten. The applications for the release of Mr Al Megrahi were not matters I chose to decide upon. But, they were decisions that fell to me given the position I am privileged to hold.

"The decision was mine and mine alone. But others did play a huge part and I pay tribute to them. I was ably supported by officials. Sustained by colleagues. Guided by the laws of Scotland and the values of the people of Scotland. There is one individual sadly no longer with us though to whom I must pay tribute. He lectured in those laws and he epitomised those values. He taught me and he taught me well. We remember Professor Sir Neil MacCormick.

"Iain Gray said he opposed my decision – but only after I had taken it. Even then Gordon Brown couldn’t decide whether he was for it or against it. Many Labour MPs and MSPs have since told me that they agreed with my decision but none of them have spoken out. Only Malcolm Chisholm had the courage of his convictions.

"Scotland’s laws and Scottish values dictate that justice must be done but that mercy must be available. To act otherwise would be to discard the values by which we seek to live and debase the beliefs which we seek to uphold.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I said in Parliament that it was my decision and my decision alone. It was not based on political, economic or diplomatic grounds. It was taken the right way, for the right reasons and I believe it was the right decision.

"Fellow delegates, as we look forward isn’t it absurd that Scotland’s Parliament is still not competent to legislate to ban air guns or even lower the drink drive limit. Our Government has shown itself to be capable in many matters. It’s time that our Parliament had the competence to act as other sovereign nations do. It’s time we had the powers of an independent Parliament.

"As my good friend Charlie Reid of the Proclaimers sings:

"..."we fight when they ask us, we boast then we cower, we beg for a piece of what’s already ours.”

"We still fight when they ask us. And whether on the Plains of Abraham or in the hills of Afghanistan, our soldiers serve us with pride. They deserve better.

"..."We boast then we cower.” – well, not under this Government or this First Minister. We stand up for our principles and defend our values. We’ve shown that we’ve got what it takes as a Government and as a Nation to take big decisions.

"..."We beg for a piece of what’s already ours.” We don’t want pocket money from the Calman Commission or anyone else. We only want what is rightfully ours. We want to be able to ensure that in tough economic times that it’s those who have the most who contribute the most. The right to spend on our poor and our pensioners not on weapons of mass destruction. The right to use our oil wealth for the good of our people not a war in Iraq.

"Ladies and gentlemen, as we consider our nation’s future, I am minded of the Irish lawyer and patriot Robert Emmet who said when my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then may my epitaph be written. There is work to be done. But we have shown that we’ve got what it takes – there’s a nation to build and elections to win. Let’s get to it.