Justice Committee calls for views on Management of Offenders Bill

Holyrood's Justice Committee has launched its call for evidence prior to considering the Scottish Government’s Management of Offenders (Scotland) Bill at stage 1.

The bill seeks to enable greater use of electronic tagging, reduces the time before a conviction is "spent" for the purposes of disclosure, and alters the makeup of the Parole Board for Scotland. (Click here for news item.)

The Scottish Government’s stated aims are to have more focus on crime prevention, rehabilitation, and support for victims.

Committee convener Margaret Mitchell MSP commented: "Clearly any changes to the way we treat offenders needs careful consideration. Members will want to be satisfied that these measures strike the right balance between preventing crime, supporting victims and rehabilitating offenders.

"A whole range of stakeholders will be asked to give evidence, including the legal profession, victims of crime and ex-offenders.

"There will be many people with valuable opinions on these questions, and these views will help to inform the committee’s stage 1 report, as well as future stages of the bill during its parliamentary progress."

Click here to view the call for evidence. The deadline for submissions is Friday 20 April.