Victims betrayed by sof t-touch shambles

KEEPING the public safe is the No1 priority for any government. It is a complex task demanding a multi-discipline approach in which deterrence is a cornerstone.

Criminals must feel they have a good chance of being caught and, on conviction, of receiving a sentence that reflects society’s distaste for criminals.

Yet the SNP seems determined to turn the concept of justice on its head, putting the rights of criminals above those of victims and fighting to keep even violent thugs out of jail. We report today that large numbers of criminals are being let off with a slap on the wrist in the form of warning letters, modest fines or, incredibly, just a chat with a social worker. While the law-abiding public look on askance, criminals are laughing, scarcely believing their luck.

The grim story is given an air of farce by the fact that this latest soft-touch drive appears to be designed to take pressure off under-resourced courts. Once again, then, SNP stewardship of precious resources comes into sharp focus. This is a Government that pushes millions into baby boxes, despite little evidence of their efficacy in tackling infant mortality. No price is, it seems, too high for virtue signalling.

And while justice creaks for want of resources, Nicola Sturgeon can gallivant around Europe on a pointless round of lowgrade pro-EU talks and pull £1million out of the hat for woolly ‘climate change’ during a photo opportunity trip to Reykjavik.

Police Scotland limps from crisis to crisis, its upper echelons in chaos, its rank-andfile overstretched and under-resourced.

At the other end of the system, the courts now feel the financial strain. It adds up to a field day for criminals and how Justice Secretary Michael Matheson, invisible man of the Cabinet, is still presiding over the whole shambles is a question that should keep Miss Sturgeon awake at nights.