Meeting of the Parliament 24 May 2012 : Thursday, May 24, 2012
Kenny MacAskill Absolutely. Sadly, people have been using those weapons entirely inappropriately. I say for the record that I recently met the parents of Andrew Morton and gave them the same commitment that I give members. I also pay tribute to Andrew’s parents for their efforts to ensure that we bring in an approp...
Meeting of the Parliament 24 May 2012 : Thursday, May 24, 2012
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Kenny MacAskill) Yes. We have a long-standing commitment to address the misuse of air weapons and we will bring forward legislation to regulate their ownership and use at the earliest possible opportunity.
Meeting of the Parliament 24 May 2012 : Thursday, May 24, 2012
Kenny MacAskill Absolutely—I can give that assurance. I understand the member’s concerns. I again pay tribute to those who have served on visiting committees. The Government has taken action to develop an advocacy service, which we think is necessary to deal with offenders’ needs, particularly those who are part of...
Meeting of the Parliament 24 May 2012 : Thursday, May 24, 2012
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Kenny MacAskill) My officials have worked closely with Her Majesty’s chief inspector of prisons in Scotland to develop a statutory monitoring service that will be both operationally and financially integrated within the inspectorate and which will report to HM chief inspector of prisons. The new service will be spli...
Meeting of the Parliament 24 May 2012 : Thursday, May 24, 2012
Kenny MacAskill The Government has made it clear that there is a correlation between the record number of police officers and the 35-year low in recorded crime. It is our intention to maintain the 1,000 additional officers, not simply numerically but in terms of their contribution in our communities. In restructuri...
Meeting of the Parliament 24 May 2012 : Thursday, May 24, 2012
Kenny MacAskill Those are ultimately operational matters for the police service. I have never interfered with the structure of the eight current forces and I would not do so with a single service.
The member’s point has been made previously by those who have been pursuing the benefits of a single police...
Meeting of the Parliament 24 May 2012 : Thursday, May 24, 2012
Kenny MacAskill I can give the member that assurance. I am aware of her concerns. The intention behind having a single service is to ensure that in the face of swingeing cuts, we manage to preserve the integrity of the police service in Scotland and provide the necessary resources to cover a variety of matters in a...
Meeting of the Parliament 24 May 2012 : Thursday, May 24, 2012
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice (Kenny MacAskill) The police service, under the leadership of Chief Constable Kevin Smith, is collecting information on policing resources, including police stations, as part of the work to create the police service of Scotland.
Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2012 : Thursday, May 17, 2012
Kenny MacAskill If this was such an issue for police officers, why was it not raised last week by Inspector Hamilton of the Tayside police federation or, indeed, by Calum Steele of the Scottish Police Federation in the evidence to the Justice Committee that Mr McLetchie quoted?
Meeting of the Parliament 17 May 2012 : Thursday, May 17, 2012
Kenny MacAskill Does the member not recognise that political parties have the right—as the Conservatives had—to seek election on a number of platforms, one of which might be to increase police visibility by 1,000 officers, and that, if the electorate supports that, the party in question has the mandate and authorit...