Bill to increase use of community sentences passed by Holyrood

A bill meant to strengthen the community justice system in Scotland has been passed by the Scottish Parliament.

The Community Justice (Scotland) Bill is aimed at reducing reoffending and moving away from short term prison sentences, in favour of community sentences.

The bill lays the groundwork for a new decentralised model which supports increased use of community sentences, a reduction in the use of short prison sentences and improved prospects for people who have offended returning to their communities.

It gives responsibility for planning and monitoring community justice services to local partners, and also creates a national body to provide leadership, promote innovation and give assurance on improved outcomes for Scotland’s communities.

Legal affairs minister, Paul Wheelhouse, said: “Our vision for a fairer justice system in Scotland reflects the values of a modern progressive nation. We are working towards a position where prison sentences, and particularly short term sentences, could be used less frequently, with a stronger emphasis on effective community sentences to address the underlying causes of offending and being able to demonstrate their effectiveness to communities.

“Scotland’s approach is already working, as shown by reconviction rates at their lowest for 16 years. The number of reconvictions of people given community sentences like a community payback order is less than half compared with those receiving short term prison sentences and I pay tribute to all involved in the community justice field who have contributed to this improvement, but we can and should do more.

“Unpaid work by community payback order teams to fill sandbags during flooding in the Scottish Borders and to source and process wood to be delivered to older people shows the fantastic benefit that community sentencing can have on the community.”