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Bail supervision funding increase |
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Thursday, 24 January 2008 |
Extra money for supervised bail schemes will allow the number of Scots being held in prison on remand, or awaiting reports after conviction, to be reduced without affecting public safety Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said today.
MacAskill announced an extra £500,000 on top of the existing £1.2m provision for supervised bail schemes, which will give priority to those with mental health problems, women, single parents and young people aged between 16 and 21.
MacAskill said:
“Our intention is to ensure that bail supervision is available to all Scottish courts - this additional funding will help achieve that goal. However we also want to encourage better local liaison between service providers and courts and a more consistent service across the country. Of course the decision on whether an accused is bailed or remanded is for the court to make and that will remain the case. If a court considers the interests of public safety are best served by remanding an accused pending their trial, then the court will still be able to remand that accused. Nothing will change in that respect.
“However at the moment Scotland's remand population is unacceptably high so by providing extra financial support we can help ease some of the pressure on the system. Supervised bail is designed to provide courts with an additional option where the accused might otherwise have been remanded. As I have made clear on many occasions, I strongly believe that prison should be for serious and dangerous offenders - not the flotsam and jetsam of society. Extending these schemes will mean that women, single parents and those with mental health problems aren't clogging up our jails.”
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