Why is this National Outcome important?
Keeping people safe is the primary duty of government. A safe and just society is a basic requirement for a vibrant and sustainable economy. Communities and people can only flourish and reach their potential when they are protected and they feel safe. This outcome is about protecting people from crime, antisocial behaviour and from the threat of accidents and major incidents.
Crime causes damage - be that the immediate physical, economic or social consequences, or the longer term erosion of public confidence and community resilience. We all wish to live our lives free from the risk and fear of crime. In recent years, there has been a downward trend in the levels of crime in Scotland - crime recorded by the police is at a 35-year low, and the risk of becoming a victim was down to 17.8% in 2010-11. In 2010-11, nearly three quarters of people (74 per cent) thought that the crime rate in their local area had stayed the same or reduced in the past two years. The reconviction rate is at its lowest level for more than a decade.
While clear-up rates for crime are at an all-time high we must understand why people commit crimes and what we can do to prevent it. We will only build a safer and stronger Scotland by tackling the root causes. Deep-seated issues such as Scotland's relationship with drink, drugs, violence and deprivation are likely to be symptoms of more fundamental problems. Why do so many of those in prison come from our most deprived communities? And why do so many offenders find it difficult to break the cycle of behaviour that is destructive to themselves, their families and their communities? We want all of Scotland's people to be able to realise their aspirations, playing a positive role in a community that they feel a genuine part of. And we want all of Scotland's people to understand that getting involved in crime or behaviour that leads to crime is unacceptable.
By tackling crime we improve the lives of victims, their families and the communities in which they live. By working with offenders we can turn lives around to make a positive contribution. And by reducing the fear of crime and antisocial behaviour and danger we help build and sustain strong, resilient communities, in which people can thrive and reach their potential.
In addition to the dangers posed by crime, danger and disorder we need to be able to reduce the risk of accidental harm, whether that is caused by fire, road accidents or other dangers. Finally we need to build our capacity to deal swiftly and effectively with major incidents - be that flooding, terrorism or any other threat to our society. We need to have confidence in those who will respond to those incidents, so that we are able to live our lives and plan for the future.
What will influence this National Outcome?
Tackling the underlying causes of crime calls for a broader and longer term approach - addressing the challenges of drink, drugs, violence and deprivation that blight parts of Scotland. We know that some children are at greater risk of becoming offenders because of the circumstances into which they are born. These risks can be reduced by effective intervention, equipping parents and young people to make good choices and offering positive alternatives to offending. These need to be alternatives which will create a sustainable, more cohesive society where everyone can take advantage of the opportunities available and enjoy a better quality of life.
Many different agencies are involved in keeping people safe. A strong and well-targeted police and fire service presence can also provide public reassurance. Community Safety Partnerships and Community Planning Partnerships work within communities to identify, target and resolve local issues. Low level offending and antisocial behaviour must be swiftly and effectively dealt with - as they have a corrosive effect on communities. The police, prosecutors and courts are involved in the detection and prosecution of crime. Speedy and effective enforcement can deter offending. Where someone has been found guilty, the punishment must be fair, appropriate and effectively enforced. And there needs to be a distinct approach to tackling serious and organised crime - recognising its complexity and meeting that with an effective response.
Our capacity, as individuals, communities and responders to deal with emergencies (such as the incidents at Glasgow Airport in 2007) must continually become more flexible, so that it can respond to the unimaginable as well as to the day-to-day.
What is the Government's role?
We will lead efforts to create a safer, stronger Scotland, working with a range of partners to ensure that enforcement is effective while seeking to address the deeper, underlying causes of crime, danger and disorder.
We are committed to driving forward reforms and initiatives to prevent offending and reoffending - focusing especially on early intervention, providing opportunities for young people and keeping them out of trouble. As the Christie Commission emphasised, preventative approaches are crucial. Intervening early, engaging with young people and getting the right help at important times in their lives - especially for the most vulnerable - these are vital steps to divert them from the wrong choices and impairing their life chances. Investing in the pre-school years, providing intensive support for some families, youth engagement and fire safety education, equipping children with the skills to make a positive contribution through Curriculum for Excellence and the whole system approach to youth offending are all specific examples of this approach. Where people have offended, we have an opportunity to prevent their future reoffending through targeted work to address their behaviour.
This Government is looking hard at what needs to be done to tackle the underlying causes of crime. We have invested £32 million to support the delivery of the national drugs recovery strategy. We will continue to reduce the time people wait to get specialist treatment for drug problems so that people seeking recovery can get the help they need when they need it. We will support drugs services across the country to re-design what they do to help more people sustain long-term recovery and we will continue to roll-out our world-leading overdose prevention programme, saving lives and providing hope to families coping with addiction. On alcohol, we have banned irresponsible promotions in the off-trade sector and have introduced a power to ensure those who profit from the sale of alcohol contribute to some of the costs of dealing with the consequences of alcohol misuse. We also ensure the message about the risk of accidental fire in connection with alcohol use is communicated.
We have invested in the justice system. We have increased police officer numbers to provide an effective and visible police presence which is helping tackle offending and reducing the fear of crime. We are committed to coming down hard on serious and organised crime and we have established the Serious and Organised Crime Taskforce to ensure all key law enforcement agencies are working together on this. We are working to ensure that the systems we have in place for dealing with offenders are as effective as they can be, continuing with reforms to speed up the criminal justice system, improving the way it processes cases and ensuring that justice is swift for both offenders and victims. The Making Justice Work Programme is addressing court delays and the victim and witness experience. This will save £14m in 2012/13, with bigger savings delivered longer term. The Reducing Reoffending Programme is delivering changes to give Scotland a modern coherent penal policy based on a credible and robust package of community penalties, such as the new Community Payback Order (CPO). A next phase of this work will now look at what needs to be done to ensure that effective services to reduce reoffending are available in all parts of the country.
The Government can also promote and encourage innovative approaches to improvement. We have used seized criminal assets to benefit communities through our 'Cashback for Communities' initiative. We have invested in 'No Knives, Better Lives', an award winning youth engagement initiative which educates young people about the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife. And we have established a new Reducing Reoffending preventative fund. This fund will expand the coverage and impact of those interventions with a proven track record in reducing reoffending, as well as supporting innovation.
Ensuring that people can go about their daily lives safely involves not only tackling crime and its root causes, but building Scotland's resilience to natural hazards and events. Our work in this area is based on a multi-agency approach to risk assessment, coupled with the development of capabilities to respond to all types of emergency. That work spans the public, private and voluntary sectors - and involves every individual in thinking about the risks they may face (such as the impacts of severe weather) and the simple steps they can take to be more prepared. By developing these capabilities Scotland can effectively prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies and other disruptive events.
Related Strategic Objectives
Safer and Stronger
Wealthier and Fairer
Related National Indicators
Reduce alcohol related hospital admissions
Reduce the number of individuals with problem drug use
Improve people's perceptions about the crime rate in their area
Reduce reconviction rates
Reduce crime victimisation rates
Reduce deaths on Scotland's roads
Improve people's perceptions of their neighbourhood