From here to Holyrood - Des McNulty

Published 21 Jul 2010 13:30

The SNP's Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill means sheriffs will not be allowed to jail people for less than three months, unless there are special circumstances.

The SNP has brought in a 'presumption' against sending offenders to prison which means that people who previously would have received sentences of up to three months will no longer go to jail.

In Strathclyde this means more than 3,000 offenders would have avoided jail last year, including nine crimes of serious assault and attempted murder, eight of robbery, 452 of common assault and 161 knife crimes.

More than 800 people guilty of dishonesty, 104 of drug offences and 23 drink-drivers would also have looked forward to a community punishment rather than jail thanks to Justice secretary Kenny MacAskill's flawed scheme.

The man who controversially released Lockerbie bomber Megrahi to Libya is now keeping convicted offenders out of jail here in Scotland.

The SNP's soft-touch plans to scrap short sentences are putting communities at risk.

Dangerous offenders who should be locked up will no longer face the threat of prison as powers to impose short sentences have been removed from the courts.

Mr MacAskill argues that ending short jail terms is essential to tackle prison overcrowding and improve the rehabilitation of offenders.

But letting violent criminals, including those guilty of serious assault, domestic abuse and knife crime, out on our streets and avoid jail is not justice for the victims of these appalling crimes.

The SNP is not paying heed to the wishes of people in this community.

Clydebank's residents want to see those carrying knives sent to jail, those who commit serious offences going to jail and tough action taken by the police and the courts to protect law-abiding folk.

A Government that washes its hands of these problems is not acting in the best interests of the country.

Last Autumn, along with my colleague Trish Godman MSP, I met with Alex Salmond to put forward the case for improved fencing and CCTV on the Erskine Bridge.

This followed the tragic deaths of two young girls and a number of other incidents where there were fatalities or where the police and emergency services had been called out.

I had met with community organisations which were concerned in an attempt to prevent future similar tragedies on the bridge.

We got assurances that steps would be taken to extend the fencing across the length of the bridge and that the relevant authorities would take forward CCTV to monitor any suspicious activities on the bridge and provide early warning in the event of anyone attempting to jump off the bridge.

I am very disappointed therefore that West Dunbartonshire Council and Transport Scotland have so far failed to reach agreement on the installation of CCTV.

It looks as though the council rather than Transport Scotland is the stumbling block but I will be meeting Transport Scotland shortly along with my colleague Trish Godman MSP.

Hopefully we can persuade all those involved that putting fencing and cameras in place will save lives.

I had a visit from Jim Combe this week.

Jim is a Bankie now living in Melbourne where the Westgate Bridge is an exact replica of the Erskine Bridge.

There have been a large number of suicide attempts on that bridge over the years but the installation of fencing has made a significant difference.

Hopefully we can learn from what works elsewhere and reduce the number of people committing or attempting suicide at the Erskine Bridge.

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This article appeared in Clydebank Post 21 Jul 10

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