Crime stats a damning indictment of SNP’s soft touch

The Scottish Government have published statistics on court proceedings and sentencing in Scotland for 2010-11. They show a higher percentage of serious crimes are resulting in a community sentence, and that the number of people convicted for rape and attempted rape fell by a third.

Scottish Conservative Justice Spokesman, David McLetchie MSP said:

"These statistics are a damning indictment of the SNP's soft touch approach to crime. More and more criminals are carrying out serious crimes but are only being given community sentences to punish them. Prison terms not only serve as a powerful deterrent but also protect the public from the violent individuals who are committing these crimes and it must be used more in these instances.

"That a criminal is much more likely to be given a formal warning for a sexual offense than a dangerous driving is unacceptable and a situation that must be reversed. It makes a laughing stock of the law and severely undermines public confidence.

"It is disappointing to see that the number of rape convictions has dropped. Rape is one of the most heinous crimes and we must do all we can to ensure that those committing these crimes are brought to justice.

"While the proposal to abolish corroboration as suggested in the Carloway Report may raise the number of convictions, this is by no means certain and is likely at best to have a marginal impact. There are many other aspects of Scots law relating to rules of evidence and the conduct of trials, such as majority verdicts, which would have to be analysed before such a large change could be introduced."

Back to all posts