The Scottish Conservatives have called on the SNP to end their soft-touch approach to justice and deliver an extra £62 million worth of investment in Thursday’s budget to tackle Scotland’s rising level of violent crime.
The party want to see Police Scotland’s capital funding boosted - increasing pressure on the SNP to reverse the shortfall for 2021-22 - with the money put towards crime-fighting equipment, police cars and stations.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service would receive a further £8 million of capital funding to improve fire engines and stations under the party’s plans.
In addition, the Scottish Conservatives are calling for an extra £13.2 million for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to help clear the court backlog, and £4.3 million to be allocated to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to fund the extra staff they need to prosecute criminals.
The Scottish Conservatives would also reverse the SNP’s cut to the victim support budget from last year and instead boost its funding to record levels.
Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy, Liz Smith MSP, said: “This funding is desperately needed to keep the public safe.
“Scotland’s justice system has suffered from years of under-investment by the SNP Government, with police stations left crumbling, cuts to victim support and a growing backlog in courts that forces victims to wait years for justice.
“There is no time to lose. The SNP must tackle rising levels of violent crime, keep the public safe and put victims at the heart of Scotland’s justice system.”
Notes
- The SNP cut the victims budget by half a million pounds last year. The Victim/Witness support budget was cut by £500,000 from £18.7 million to £18.2 million. (Scottish Government, 2021-22 Budget, 28 January 2021, Page 106, link).
- Last year Police Scotland’s capital budget fell at least £30 million short. After Police Scotland requested a capital budget of £85.7 million for 2021-22, there was just a £500,000 increase in funding from the Scottish Government. HMICS said: ‘The SPA continue to engage with SG on requirement to increase capital funding to enable investment in programmes to deliver modern policing service. Total capital funding allocation for 2021-2022 is £53.7 million, which maintains capital funding at existing levels.’ (HMICS, Annual Report 2020-21, August 2021, link; Police Scotland, Pre 2021-22 Budget Submission, 8 September 2020, Page 6 link; Scottish Government, 2021-22 Budget, 28 January 2021, Pages 105 & 107, link).
So far this year, violent crime has increased when compared to the eight-year high recorded pre-pandemic. So far in 2021, 5,732 non-sexual crimes have been recorded between the months of April and October. When compared to the same period in 2019, this is an increase on the 5,646 violent crimes recorded during that time. The number of violent crimes recorded in 2019-20 was an eight year high – as 9,316 violent crimes were recorded. The number of violent crimes had risen for each of the previous five years in the run up to 2019-20. (Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland October 2021, 18 November 2021, Table 1, link; Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland 2020-21, 28 September 2021, Table 1, link).
The Scottish Conservatives are calling for at least £62 million worth of extra funding for Scotland’s justice system. The measures we are suggesting is £8 million for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service capital funding, £13.2 million for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, £4.3 million for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, £0.9 million for the Victim/Witness support Budget and £35.6 million increase in Police Scotland capital funding.