Justice

MAKE POLICE SCOTLAND FULLY ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PEOPLE OF SCOTLAND

Every police officer in Scotland should be subject to democratically elected oversight and Scotland’s single police service must be locally accountable.

The Scottish Greens will:

• Support full integration of British Transport Police with Police Scotland to ensure they are subject to democratically elected scrutiny.
• Ensure local authorities are able to robustly scrutinise Local Police Commanders.
• Ensure every citizen can easily access an efficient complaints procedure. We support Dame Elish Angiolini’s proposal for an improved police complaints system, and welcome a much enhanced role in complaints for the independent Police Investigations and Review Commissioner.

ABOLISH THE ‘NOT PROVEN’ VERDICT

Scotland is one of the few jurisdictions in the world with a three-verdict system in criminal trials, i.e. guilty, not guilty and not proven. In practice there is no legal difference between a not guilty and not proven verdict and this raises the question of the merits of retaining both verdicts. The not proven verdict is disproportionately applied in crimes of a sexual nature - 35% in trials for rape or attempted rape compared with 17% in other cases. In line with our rights-based approach to policy making, the Scottish Greens will support the abolition of the ‘not proven’ verdict and a thorough review of jury numbers and the majority required to secure a conviction.

MINIMUM USE OF FORCE

The Scottish Greens believe any use of force should be proportionate and used as the last resort in any situation. We are extremely concerned at the use of so-called ‘spit hoods’ - mesh hoods used on suspects in incidents of assault by spitting - which have been used on children and individuals with suspected mental health problems. Their use risks restricting breathing and can cause extreme distress, and evidence suggests that they do not protect Officers from disease transmission; their principle justification. The Scottish Greens support Amnesty International’s call to stop issuing spit hoods to police officers.

MAKE LEGAL AID AVAILABLE TO ALL DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS

Far too many women and children experiencing domestic abuse in Scotland lack access to justice because they are not eligible for Civil Legal Aid. Currently, victims of domestic abuse are given ‘additional measures of support’ in criminal cases but this is not routinely replicated in civil cases, nor is there adequate provision of civil legal aid. The Scottish Greens will work to ensure all those who need Legal Aid and related support will receive it, including in civil proceedings.

The Scottish Greens will enshrine the right to lifelong anonymity for victims of sexual crimes in law.

DECRIMINALISE SEX WORK

We will fight for the decriminalisation of sex work to ensure sex workers are legally protected from exploitation, trafficking and violence and have improved access to support and healthcare.

ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

The Scottish Greens believe we need to do much more to tackle endemic sexual harassment and violence against women in Scotland. We will develop a strategy that effectively prevents and responds to violence, and that centres the needs and concerns of survivors. At its heart will be a focus on education, through ensuring the delivery of high quality consent based relationship and sex education, training and information campaigns, and on ensuring public services better respond to survivors of abuse.

We support reform of the criminal justice system so that it better works for survivors, and will create a Victims Commissioner for Scotland to represent the interests of victims and to drive improvements and innovation in the justice system.

TACKLE WILDLIFE CRIME

The ongoing failure, by police and prosecutors, to address the shameful illegal wildlife persecution in Scotland requires much stronger enforcement. The widespread illegal killing of birds of  prey, for example, continues with impunity, and the Scottish Government’s own research has found large numbers of golden eagles disappearing in suspicious circumstances. Yet detection of these crimes is rare and prosecutions even rarer. The Scottish Greens believe Police Scotland could do much more.

We will:

• Deliver a fully resourced a Wildlife Crime Investigation Unit to investigate wildlife persecution and enforce protection, and ensure there are adequate wildlife crime officers in all regions.
• Push for greater use of existing sanctions, including the removal of General Licences.
• Make specific provision to allow consideration of video evidence by the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service in cases relating to wildlife crime.

THE SCOTTISH GREENS WILL ALSO