‘Sentencing young people’ guideline – A CJS response to the Scottish Sentencing Council consultation
The Scottish Sentencing Council published a consultation on a draft guideline on the sentencing of young people convicted of an offence. Community Justice Scotland welcomed the consultation on this vital area and submitted the following response. Read here.
CJS Parliamentary Committee Evidence submission on the UNCRC (Incorporation) Bill
In September 2020, Community Justice Scotland was invited to submit evidence to the Scottish Parliament’s Equalities & Human Rights Committee in relation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill. Read here.
CJS response to the consultation on proposals to modify local connection referrals
In August 2020, the Scottish Government published a consultation seeking views on a proposed Ministerial Statement modifying the arrangements for local connection referrals in relation to housing and homelessness applications. Community Justice Scotland submitted the following response in October 2020. Read here.
CJS submission to Scottish Parliament Justice Committee on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill
In May 2020 the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee launched a call for views on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill, introduced in April 2020. CJS’s response can be found here:
Strategic Commissioning Framework
Community Justice Scotland (CJS) has worked closely with partners to co-produce a Strategic Commissioning Framework (SCF) for the sector. This work has benefited greatly from the contributions of many organisations and individuals and it reflects the insights and perspectives of a wide range of stakeholders, including service providers and those who have experience of the justice system.
Community justice has never been more important, and will remain so, as we jointly try to provide effective services and support to people within communities in the coming years. The goal of providing high quality services that meet the needs of people affected by the justice system in communities has never been more pressing. There is outstanding work going on across Scotland, even in the midst of this unprecedented challenge.
The SCF and the Executive Summary are now published and it is hoped that everyone in the community justice sector will be able to apply and benefit from the guidance and processes they set out . Community Justice Scotland (CJS) intends to support the application of the SCF within local partnerships, both directly and through our work to bring about improved practice.
Although we, like many organisations, have additional pressures on many of the things we do and constraints on how we are able to operate as a result of the impact of Covid -19 we are actively developing different ways of providing assistance to partners and partnerships in applying this Framework and will bring forward these in early course.
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The National Strategy for Community Justice identified improved strategic, collaborative planning and delivery of services as a priority. To support its achievement, Community Justice Scotland led on the development of a Strategic Commissioning Framework (SCF): a universal process for community justice use at local, national and regional levels. It took a needs-led, outcomes focussed approach and supports system-wide improvements to effective, evidence-based intervention, and to equity of access to services.
This Briefing Paper explains the purpose and timescales of the work, and supported input into its development.
Engagement with community justice partners and wider stakeholders took place in two phases:
1 Roundtables to define the vision for implementation
2 Consultation on the draft Strategic Commissioning Framework – online and a small number of workshops.
Our Corporate Plan 2020-2023 (draft) for public consultation
Consultation period now closed.
Community Justice Scotland’s (CJS) approach to community justice is about equality of opportunity. We want a Scotland that is safe for all and allows everyone to achieve their full potential as well as a community justice model that is admired world-wide.
We are proud of what CJS has achieved in its first three years and excited by the potential for change and improvement that lies ahead in the next three. Building upon the partnerships we have formed at national and local levels, this draft version of our Community Justice Scotland Corporate Plan 2020-2023 sets out what we will aim to achieve over the next three years.
We are seeking your views on this plan. Please review and submit your feedback directly, via email, to: Bill.Fitzpatrickcommunityjustice.scot Please note the consultation period closed on midday Thursday 30 April 2020.
Download and read the draft version here: Community Justice Scotland Corporate Plan 2020-2023
Written submission to the consultation on the Youth Justice Standards
On 31 October 2019, Scottish Government launched a consultation on the update to the national standards that provide a framework for the audit of support services for children involved with youth justice. Community Justice Scotland submitted a response to the consultation on 22 January 2020.
Read our full consultation response and letter from our Chief Executive here.
Community Justice Outcome Activity Across Scotland Annual Report 2018-19
Welcome to Community Justice Scotland’s second annual report on community justice outcome activity across Scotland. This version of the report is a consultation draft and we would now like to seek your views.
In this draft report (which is a requirement of the Community Justice (Scotland) Act 2016) we have tried to capture the collaborative work being undertaken by partners throughout Scotland as they strive to meet the national outcomes.The draft report includes examples of community justice in action and identifies examples of progress made during the reporting year, both of which should serve as an opportunity for rich discussion and the sharing of ideas and practice. The draft report also tries to highlight key messages and areas for improvement within each of the national outcomes which will need careful consideration in terms of response from all community justice partners.
Please take the time to reflect on both the challenges and achievements highlighted in this draft report and, if you feel you have a contribution to make, we would love to hear your views by replying to the invitation e-mail or by contacting us directly. Please submit any comments or thoughts by Wednesday 12 February 2020.
Following this consultation, all feedback will be considered and the final report will be prepared in early March and laid in Parliament on 31 March 2020. Please be aware that the final report content will remain under embargo until that date.
Download the full report here.
CJS submission to the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee on pre-budget scrutiny
CJS recently submitted a response to the Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee on pre-budget scrutiny.
Read our full response here.
Disclosure (Scotland) Bill – Written Submission to Education and Skills Committee
The disclosure regime in Scotland is complex and affected by a range of legislation including the recent Management of Offenders and Age of Criminal Responsibility Acts – that complexity creates confusion for many. Simplification of this landscape is critical to ensure that people with convictions are afforded opportunities to move on with their lives. It is particularly important that people also understand when a conviction becomes spent and is no longer required to be disclosed . The provision of accessible guidance will be important in ensuring the effective implementation of the new system.
CJS’s submission to the Education and Skills Committee on the Disclosure (Scotland) Bill can be found here: