£1.2m In Extra Funding For Domestic Abuse Court

Funding for Scotland’s only specialist domestic abuse court is to be doubled to £1.2m, allowing 500 more cases to be handled this way and improving the handling of other cases in mainstream courts.

The changes to the court in Glasgow, which will come into effect in the autumn, will be reviewed in 18 months, when a further roll-out of the specialist courts will be considered once other improvements to streamline summary justice have been introduced.

There was a widespread welcome for the announcement yesterday by Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, but this was matched by disquiet and criticism over The Herald’s revelation yesterday that fiscal fines designed to keep low-level offences out of the courts have been applied to serious and violent offenders.

Labour’s justice spokeswoman, Pauline McNeill, highlighted the fact that a parliamentary reply she had received from the Solicitor General admitted staff involved in these key decisions had received only two days training, adding: “The rate of diversion towards fiscal fines appears to bear no relation to evidence that was given to the committee during the passage of the legislation.

“Fiscal fines are obviously not being used properly and the marking guidelines for fiscals should be amended immediately.

“The fact that fiscals had only two days training before making these changes is of great concern. Also of concern is the way that some serious crimes are being diverted from solemn procedure into the summary court at a rate that parliament would not be happy with.

“Scottish justice is being damaged by this approach, and action needs to be taken by this soft-touch Justice Minister.”

On the expansion of specialist domestic courts, Mr MacAskill said yesterday: “Violence against women must not be tolerated in any form. We know the effects of domestic abuse can be devastating, including on children and young people, and we are determined to tackle it, wherever and whenever it occurs.

“The Scottish Government is committed to the rigorous and rapid prosecution of the perpetrators of domestic abuse and to improving support for the victims of this despicable crime. We are determined to build on the success of the pilot court in Glasgow and as a first step we will increase by some 60% the caseload being fast-tracked in the dedicated court.”

The move was welcome by Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini, who said: “I fully support this expansion of the domestic abuse court in Glasgow. It is absolutely crucial for our communities that action is taken swiftly and effectively in all cases of domestic abuse.”

Liberal Democrat Mike Pringle expressed his disappointment that a national roll-out of specialist abuse courts was not taking place immediately.

On the issue of fiscal fines, he said: “There is a place for fiscal fines in the justice system, but offenders who commit serious, violent crimes against vulnerable people and children must not be allowed to dodge the court system.”

Tory justice spokesman Bill Aitken said of serious assaults being reduced to fiscal fines: “These cases quite clearly should have been taken on indictment and I am convinced that a year ago they would have been.

“The Crown Office is clearly reacting to the views of Kenny MacAskill that prisons are too full and that prison sentences should be cut.”

Norman McFadyen, Crown Agent, yesterday defended the use of fiscal fines under the reforms, saying: “We do not regard fiscal fines as appropriate where the accused has a substantial record of previous convictions or where the case is serious and would be likely, if prosecuted, to result in a fine of greater than £300, far less imprisonment.

He said: “There has been no downgrading of how domestic abuse or serious violent crime is prosecuted as a result of Summary Justice Reform. Indeed, we have strengthened our policy on domestic abuse involving violence to make it clear that the appropriate action, where the evidence permits, will be to prosecute in the sheriff court.”

Mr McFadyen added: “We will not always get every decision right and we will continue to learn from our experience of these new procedures, but the prosecution service in Scotland regards Summary Justice Reform as a real opportunity to deal more effectively with the vast bulk of criminal cases and meet the needs of victims and communities while balancing the rights of the accused to fairness.”