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COMMUNITY JUSTICE REDESIGN IN SCOTLAND
Community Justice has been defined by Scottish Government as:
“The collection of agencies and services in Scotland that
individually and in partnership work to manage offenders, prevent
offending and reduce reoffending and the harm that it causes, to
promote social inclusion, citizenship and desistance.”
A national redesign of ‘community justice’ is taking place in Scotland. From 1st April 2017
responsibility for strategic planning and delivery of community justice will be taken forward
by partners in each local authority area. In addition a national body – Community Justice
Scotland - is to be formed to oversee the new arrangements, give assurance to Ministers
and promote the benefits of ‘community justice’. The ‘Community Justice (Scotland) Bill’
(“the draft Bill”), which is currently making its way through Parliament, will underpin these
changes.
The emphasis of the new model lies in a collaborative approach between partner
organisations, communities, and the individuals who find themselves involved with the
‘Criminal Justice System’ and their families. It aims to encompass all those who may be
able to contribute to improving outcomes for individuals, families and communities,
including organisations/services which may not traditionally have been involved with
community justice. Communities lie at the heart of this new model, and the local strategic
planning and delivery of services through Community Planning Partnerships (“CPPs”) are
central to the new arrangements.
The Scottish Government’s ‘Response to the Consultation on the Future Model for
Community Justice in Scotland’ (December 2014) included the following milestones:
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January 2016 - CPPs share with Scottish Ministers their intentions for how they plan
to take forward arrangements for the strategic planning and delivery of community
justice;
January 2016 – CPPs make their plans for 2016-17 available to the Scottish
Government for comment in support of the transition process.
At the end of July 2015, the Scottish Government wrote to CPP Chairs setting out
expectations with regards to these ‘transition plans’. This letter clarified that although the
draft Bill puts a duty on partners to prepare a ‘community justice outcomes improvement
plan’ and to report on this each year, the transition plan for 2016-17 is not intended to be a
community justice outcomes improvement plan, and that the first of these would be
required for 2017-18.
Background
Community Justice Authorities: Community Justice Authorities (“CJAs”) were created
by the Management of Offenders Etc (Scotland) Act 2005 with the following key functions:
preparing, in consultation with partners, plans to reduce reoffending; monitoring and
reporting on performance; promoting good practice; and allocating Section 27 grant
funding to local authority Criminal Justice Social Work Services. The Northern CJA has
been fulfilling this role in the north of Scotland.
Reviews and Recommendations: As a result of recommendations made by Audit
Scotland, the Public Audit Committee, and the ‘Commission on Women Offenders’, in
December 2012 Scottish Government started a consultation process on the future design
of ‘Community Justice’.
Consultations – the Preferred Model: The initial consultation on ‘Redesigning the
Criminal Justice System’ (December 2012) offered three possible options, of which a local
model was one. As a result of the findings of this consultation, a further consultation was
launched (in April 2014) on the details of the proposed new model which would take the
form of:
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Local strategic planning and delivery of Community Justice services through
Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs); and
The creation of a national body to provide assurance and recommendations to
Scottish Ministers and Local Government elected members as well as professional
strategic leadership for the sector.
New Legislation: In December 2014, the Scottish Government published its response to
this consultation which set out the way forward, and in May 2015 the draft ‘Community
Justice (Scotland) Bill’, which will form the key legislative backdrop to the Redesign, was
published and is currently progressing through Parliament.
The draft Bill defines ‘community justice partners’ in each local area:
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Local Authorities
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Police Scotland
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Health Boards
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Scottish Fire & Rescue Service
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Skills Development Scotland
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Scottish Courts & Tribunals Service
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Health & Social Care Integration
Joint Boards
Scottish Ministers (represented by
the Scottish Prison Service)
The draft Bill also sets out the duties of these partners:
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To prepare a community justice outcomes improvement plan and to engage with
partners and communities;
To review the plan;
To report on the plan on an annual basis; and
To publish plans and reports and make them available to Community Justice Scotland
(the new national body envisaged under the draft Bill).
New Strategy and Performance Framework: A national Community Justice Strategy and
Performance Framework are currently being developed, as required by the draft Bill, and
community justice partners locally must have regard to these in preparing local plans.
Taking this forward in Aberdeen: Engaging with partners and stakeholders in the
development of a transition plan for 2016-17 is a key step towards the transfer of
responsibility to a local model, whereby local partners, particularly working collaboratively,
will be in the best position to take forward the agenda to reduce reoffending and improve
outcomes for individuals, families and communities.