SNP MUST PAY MORE HEED TO VICTIMS OF CRIME

IT SHOULDN’T be difficult to come up with a justice system which protects, values and sides with victims of crime. But events of recent days, weeks and months remind us all too vividly that victims are one group the justice system is overlooking.

It would be foolish to say this is just a Scottish problem. In England, the appalling case of the so-called black cab rapist John Worboys has forced a rethink about parole there, when it should occur, and who should be involved in the decision-making process.

Similarly, there are now question marks about home detention curfews here, and we need to see some prompt action from the SNP Government, which is in sole charge of the justice brief.

Father-of-three Craig McClelland was murdered by James Wright in Paisley last year and, on Monday, was sentenced to life in prison.

Wright was meant to be serving a home curfew order, having amassed previous convictions for carrying knives, but instead had been ‘unlawfully at large’ for almost six months.

He was walking the streets when he committed this brutal murder. He should have been in custody.

It’s no wonder yesterday’s newspapers lambasted our soft-touch justice system, forcing the man in charge, Michael Matheson, to face questions on the subject during an appearance in front of MSPs at Holyrood’s justice committee.

It will be cold comfort to the family, but at least he seems keen to do something about it, having asked HM Inspectorate of Prisons and Constabulary to look at the case.

There are parallels between the Worboys case and this most recent justice failing here; a system in which the interests and wellbeing of the criminal seem to have been placed before the needs and sensitivities of victims and their families and the safety of the public.

We want to see a review of the parole system in Scotland to avoid a similar case to the Worboys one happening here.

Yesterday, we called for a review to address the ‘closed shop’ culture within parole and set out three key areas to explore.

These are the possibility of victims being given automatic rights to attend and contribute to parole hearings, as well as greater ability to appeal the decisions of those hearings. And we believe parole boards should provide more information on why decisions to release prisoners are made.

As it stands, more than a quarter of determinate sentence prisoners are let out halfway through their sentence, while one in seven sentenced to life – as Wright was on Monday – is released back into the community. Of those released, many end up straight back in jail, proving the decision to set them free was wrong.

That happened last week in the case of Gary Howieson, 28, who was convicted of an unprovoked knife attack in Lanarkshire following his release on licence.

Going back through recent history throws up numerous disturbing instances, none more so than the case earlier this year of Robbie McIntosh. Sixteen years ago he killed Anne Nicoll in Dundee, stabbing her to death as she walked her dog, and was jailed.

However, five days into home release for that crime, he committed an almost identical attack, with the same tragic result only being avoided after he was scared away by passers-by.

It was a despicable incident proving he should never have been released, and exposes woeful holes in the monitoring system.

THE victim, Linda McDonald, suffered horrific injuries which she should never have been exposed to. It’s cases like that which leave gigantic question marks over Scotland’s justice system. Only a system that pays too much heed to the requirements of the criminal to the detriment of victims could conjure up such a terrible scenario.

When put on the spot about this, be it mistakes in monitoring or lenient sentences, Nicola Sturgeon and other senior SNP figures rightly point out it is not for them to order sheriffs and judges what to do. But what the Nationalists have to realise is their increasingly soft-touch approach on justice sets a tone for everything else. In last year’s Programme for Government, the First Minister said it was her intention to abolish jail sentences of less than 12 months. Nationalist MSPs whooped with delight at this.

But, as we revealed earlier this year, that will see up to 10,000 criminals a year walk free, including some very dangerous ones.

Domestic violence is supposed to be a priority, but with the scrapping of these sentences many abusers will waltz into court, get convicted and, rather than go to jail, return to the home in which the crime was committed.

People from all sections of society and all parts of the country want a government that’s tough on crime. They want to see a justice system which prioritises the safety of the public, then factors in deterrence, punishment and rehabilitation.

The SNP currently has the balance all wrong, and that’s why we need to see a change. We have called for an overhaul of the parole system, and it’s clear a similar shake-up is required of home curfews too.

Across the political spectrum in Scotland there is disagreement about how to deal with crime, and how best to punish and rehabilitate, then reintegrate, offenders.

That’s healthy, and it is for such debates that the Scottish parliament was created. But surely we can all agree that victims must be at the front and centre of future changes. Their voice has been ignored for too long.

The Worboys case in England is forcing change there. Now it’s time for the Wright, McIntosh and Howieson examples to do the same here.