1. Last week, I called on the First Minister to put on hold her plans to increase the number of criminals being tagged in the community rather than being kept in prison, and I want to return to that issue this week. Does she think that she has the confidence of victims and the wider public for those plans? (S5F-02449)

As I said last week, two full reviews instructed by the justice secretary, one by Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary in Scotland and one by HM prisons inspectorate for Scotland, will look at the circumstances of the case that we discussed in the chamber last week. Any recommendations from those reviews will be properly acted on by the Scottish Government.

Beyond that, it is important that we have a justice system that punishes people properly for the crimes that they commit, but also works to rehabilitate people when possible. That is why some of the processes and systems that we discussed last week are in place. They are not simply for the benefit of those who commit crimes but, more importantly, are in place for the benefit of wider society. We know that better rehabilitation helps to reduce reoffending. That is something that Ruth Davidson’s colleagues in the United Kingdom Government south of the border recognise, and I believe that that is something that most people across Scotland also recognise.

The truth is that it is not at all clear how the Government’s plans that are contained in the Management of Offenders (Scotland) Bill will put victims first.

I will give an example. The First Minister is proposing to release more criminals back into communities. Under those plans, a serious offender could be released from prison, given a tag, cut that tag off, breach the terms of their release and yet, incredibly, that would not automatically be considered an offence. That is what it says in the bill. I think that that is plain wrong; does the First Minister?

The First Minister:

As Ruth Davidson has indicated in the way in which she has characterised her question, we are talking about a bill that is before Parliament for proper debate, scrutiny, discussion and, in due course, appropriate Amendment. It is, of course, the case that breaches of home detention curfew are taken seriously by the current processes. There are clear processes in place that mean that when an individual fails to comply with the conditions of their curfew and those conditions are considered to be breached, the Scottish Prison Service will revoke the individual’s licence and issue a recall order. Police Scotland is notified and will make arrangements to apprehend the prisoner. There are processes in place.

It is, however, important that we always keep those processes under review so that, when cases such as the one that we talked about last week happen—thankfully they are rare, although that offers no comfort to the family that was affected in that case—we review them properly and, if there are lessons to be learned or changes that require to be made, we take action to do that.

I hope that that was a hint—even if it was a soft hint—that the First Minister is prepared to listen on this specific issue, because it is not just me who is calling for change here but groups such as Scottish Women’s Aid, which represents the victims of domestic violence. SWA says that the

“safety and security of individual victims of crime must be the critical considerations when assessing suitability for release on” electronic monitoring. On the specific issue of tagging, SWA says that to be

“a credible deterrent, breach of the” electronic monitoring

“condition must be an automatic criminal offence.”

I believe that Scottish Women’s Aid is right on both points. Will the First Minister give a commitment now to amend the bill to ensure that the breach of electronic tagging is treated for what it should be, which is a crime?

The First Minister:

I agree that where people breach any conditions on which they are released into the community, the situation should be that they are returned to prison. Those decisions are rightly taken in some cases by the Scottish Prison Service and in other cases by the Parole Board for Scotland, and, of course, in many cases they are decisions for the independent judiciary. We will listen to the case for any proposed amendments to the bill and I hope that the Parliament will discuss that bill in an open and mature way.

It is important to point out that home detention curfew, for example, is used only with a very small proportion of the prison population. Approximately 4 per cent of the prison population at any time will be on home detention curfew, which, as I understand it, is the same as the proportion of prisoners on home detention curfew in England and Wales. Home detention curfew is therefore not used for the Majority of prisoners, but where a case is made for its use, it can help to aid rehabilitation.

Ruth Davidson asked me whether I agreed with the organisation that she cited. In terms of the substance of those quotes, I agree with the sentiment expressed there and we will debate the detail of that. However, I agree very much with this quote as well:

“Of course, the rehabilitation of criminals is a vital part of the justice system. That is why we have parole and home detention. The aim is to ensure that criminals are reintegrated with their communities so we avoid the kind of revolving door that sees criminals returning to jail over and over again”.

I agree with that quote, which is a quote from Ruth Davidson on 6 June this year.

We are absolutely happy on these benches to lodge such amendments on this issue, but I want to know whether the First Minister will back them. This Government is planning to release more convicted criminals into the community, and victims are asking why perpetrators are being put back on the streets. The First Minister admitted last week that there are scores of offenders in the community who should be being monitored but are, instead, unlawfully at large. Now, her Government has introduced a bill that aims to increase the number of offenders being released, and it says to them, “Take off your tag, breach the terms of your licence, but no need to worry, because you’ll face no further charges.”

We have a chance here to rebuild trust in our justice system, but to do so we need not an offenders bill but a victims bill. Is not it time that the First Minister went back to the drawing board and began again with a bill that will show victims that their rights come before criminals’ rights for once?

The First Minister:

My first point is that Ruth Davidson has completely mischaracterised the proposals that the Scottish Government has brought forward. My second point is that, having read out and shared with the chamber a moment ago the quote from Ruth Davidson and having listened to her just now, I am not sure whether the Tories know what their position is on these matters. So, before we properly debate the bill, perhaps the Tories will sort out their own position before they try to persuade the chamber of anything.

We will look carefully at and properly consider any Amendment that is lodged. It stands to reason that I am not going to give commitments right now to support amendments that the Government and I have not even seen. However, we will look carefully at and consider all amendments. They will be properly debated in this chamber and I certainly hope that the parliamentary authorities will allow more than 15 minutes debate for all of those important issues.

We will take decisions that are in the best interests of the victims of crime and of wider society. It is absolutely right and proper that we have a justice system—in which, I believe, there is trust in this country—that punishes those who commit crimes. The idea that Scotland, with one of the highest prison populations in the whole of western Europe, is a soft touch when it comes to justice simply does not bear scrutiny. We will ensure that we have a justice system that punishes criminals and also aids the wider interest of the rehabilitation of offenders because, as Ruth Davidson herself said, that is in the interests of victims of crime and of the country as a whole. We will continue to take all those matters into account in a mature and responsible way.