SNP Answer Call to Vote Against Offender Management Bill

SNP Leader, Alex Salmond, today (Wednesday) responded to a plea from the National Association of Probation Officers (NAPO) to vote against the Government's Offender Management Bill at Third Reading.

The SNP had abstained on the earlier stages of the Bill in line with its policy on non-interference on English domestic legislation.

However in a letter to Mr Salmond, the Assistant General Secretary of NAPO, Harry Fletcher, spelt out his organisation's concern on possible implications for public safety in Scotland, as well as across the UK, if the legislation was allowed to pass.

Mr Fletcher set out his concerns as follows:

"..any Scotttish individual sentenced in England and Wales and given community supervision will be more likely to re-offend whether they stayed in England and Wales or returned to Scotland.  In NAPO's views therefore the rehabilitation of Scottish individuals in these circumstances would be compromised and public protection diminished.  In view of the implications for Scottish citizens I hope you will consider voting against the Bill."

This view was backed by Derek Turner, Assistant Secretary of the Scottish Prison Officers Association who raised particular concerns with regard to supervision of sex offenders and said:

"We do believe that the Offender Management Bill and its proposals could present a direct threat in the public protection of the Scottish population."

Mr Salmond said:

"This vote comes down to a political judgement about who is best placed to offer advice on these matters.  Is it the professional associations who deal daily with offenders and protect public safety or is it a Government who have disregarded the 96% view of their own consultation exercise?

"In these circumstances we have taken the view of NAPO, backed by the Scottish Prison Officers Association, placed public safety first and voted against the Bill."

SNP Home Affairs spokesperson, Stewart Hosie MP said:

"We have listened carefully to the advice of professional Scottish Prison Officers and Probation Officers and we are convinced that opposing this Bill is the best way to ensure that there is no reduction in the protection of the public in Scotland."

ENDS

Notes:

Letter from Harry Fletcher, Assistant General Secretary of NAPO below:

Dear Alex,

I am writing to you to clarify the position for Scotland with regards to the above Bill. The Bill effectively abolishes the Probation Service in England and Wales and replaces it with a competitive market. This is a form of privatisation.

Napo has campaigned since 2004 for the introduction of the Scottish Offender Management Model into England and Wales. As I am sure you are aware the Assembly placed a duty on criminal justice agencies, including the Probation equivalent which is part of the Scottish Social Work Department, to cooperate with Prisons and the voluntary sector in order to create partnership and reduce re-offending. The feedback so far is extremely encouraging.

Despite the success of this model and the rejection by Scotland of contestability, Westminster continued to push for a market.  As a consequence, if this is enacted, any offender sentenced in Scotland to a community penalty, who subsequently moved to England and Wales, would be subjected to the fragmented, privatised system. Napo believes that that system will erode local accountability, undermine public protection work with the police and adversely affect re-offending rates.  The individual, therefore, is less likely to be rehabilitated and would pose more of a risk on his or her return to Scotland.  Conversely any Scottish citizen supervised in England and Wales, who subsequently returns to Scotland, would be less likely to have been rehabilitated and their chances of re-offending are likely to be much higher.

An individual sentenced in Scotland to community supervision would be supervised by a local community justice team.  Since their creation last year their results are very encouraging. If he or she moved to England and Wales the order would be transferred.  However under the terms of the Bill, the National Probation Service will not exist so the individual will be supervised by the private sector or multiple supervisors.  The process of supervision will not be accountable to the local authority and the individual will be less likely to receive as high a standard of supervision as in Scotland. Under this fragmented system the individual will be more likely to reoffend, whether they remained in England and Wales or returned to Scotland.

Conversely any Scottish individual sentenced in England and Wales and given community supervision will be more likely to re-offend whether they stayed in England and Wales or returned to Scotland. In Napo's view therefore the rehabilitation of Scottish individuals in these circumstances would be compromised and public protection would be diminished.

I hope this clarifies the position. In view of the implications for Scottish citizens I hope you will consider voting against this Bill.

Yours sincerely,

Harry Fletcher