Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010: Decreasing Reoffending in Scotland

This article discusses the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010 in Scotland and its impact on decreasing reoffending. It explores the provisions of the act, such as Community Payback Orders, and how they have replaced previous sentencing options. The article also highlights the role of social work services in supporting offenders and improving their lives. The implementation of this act has led to a decrease in the rate of reoffending in Scotland.

Social Work
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Table of Contents
Law........................................................................................................................................................3
Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010.........................................................................3
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995...........................................................................................4
Policies..................................................................................................................................................4
National Objectives and standard for social work in the criminal justice 1991..................................4
National outcomes and standard for social work in the criminal justice system 2010.......................5
National Strategy for community justice 2016..................................................................................5
References.............................................................................................................................................7
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Law
Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010
Defining crime in such a way to punish and criminalize it, constitute important legal and
theoretical issues. The issue of reoffending have been addressed by the Scottish Parliament in
the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010. It introduced presumptions against
the short sentences. The presumption explains that a court should not pass the imprisonment
sentence for three months period until it considers that there is no procedure to deal with the
individual (Campbell, 2014). An opportunity is being provided to the offender to improve his
life which leads to decrease in reoffending in Scotland.
Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 introduced Community Payback Orders.
Community Payback Orders replaces the provisions for supervised attendance orders,
probation orders, former community order and community service orders. Unpaid work or
other activities are being offered to offenders aged 16 or over. The court requires imposing
offender supervision requirements if the offender is below 18 years of age. If the offender
comes under one of these requirements such as alcohol treatment, programme, residence,
mental health treatment, drug treatment then the rule can be applied (Legislation, 2019). The
reoffending can be reduced because it assists the individuals to work and improve life.
The Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010 has been designed to deliver effective justice
through the offenders who carry out unpaid works. It has decreased reoffending by enabling
the criminal justice social workers to carry out their duties. Community penalties have been
more effective than the sentences of short prison and played a significant role in decreasing
reoffending. The length of a custodial sentence in 2008 to 2009 was up to three months which
made up 41 percent of the custodial sentence and it has dropped to 27 percent in 20017 to
2018 (Gov, 2018).
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Source: (Gov, 2018)
Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995
According to the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, no child under the age of 8 years
can be guilty of an offence. A child is under 18 will be considered as the out of the capacity
for committing a crime in Scotland (McCallum, 2019). If a person in police custody is below
18 years of age then the person is supported through different techniques as per section 30.
An applicable person who can assist the offender in such a situation could be guardian or
parents or carer. Children below 16 years old under police custody have the right to be in
regular contact with their parents. In case the parents are not available the child must have
access to another applicable adult (Shiels, 2011). The law has been implemented to guide and
provide right direction to minors and assisted to reduce reoffending in Scotland.
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Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 has decreased reoffending in Scotland by providing
adequate consultancy and support to the individuals who are below the age of 18. The figures
for the lengths of sentence imposed includes elements under section 27 (1) (b) of the
Criminal Procedure Act 1995 and section 16 of the Criminal and Prisoners Proceedings
(Scotland) Act 1993 for the bail aggravation (Gov, 2017).
Source: (Gov, 2018)
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Policies
National Objectives and standard for social work in the criminal justice 1991
The Miscellaneous provision Act 1991 reorganized the funding of criminal justice social
work and probation in Scotland. The revenue which was provided to the local government
was centralized and withdrawn. The services were continued to be provided by the local
government but it was being funded through the Social Work Services Group in order to
reduce reoffending (Social Work, 2019). Social Work Services Group took the responsibility
for providing training to the criminal justice social workers and funded Master’s degree at
Edinburgh University in the Criminal Justice Social Work. The main aim of the policy was to
ensure that the services that the courts need to deal with the offenders in the society were
available and of high quality. The Social Work Services Group and courts assists the offender
to improve their life which assists to decrease reoffending in Scotland. The crime rate has
been decreased with the implementation of the law and social work services.
The standard focused on the community and prison based elements of through care and a
framework is developed to recognize the share responsibilities of the prison service and local
authorities. The social workers and prison service help offenders to deal with the problems
that place them at the reoffending risk (Scottish Government, 2019). The offenders under
section 33 of the act can be sentenced to at least twelve months of imprisonment is released
on license from custody. Criminal Justice Act 1991 ensures the safety of the community by
empowering the local authorities and social workers. They play a significant role in
addressing the needs of the offenders and decreasing reoffending. The implementation of the
law has decreased the rate of offences in Scotland.
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Source: (Gov, 2018)
National outcomes and standard for social work in the criminal justice system 2010
Section 14 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing Act 2010 introduced Community Payback
Orders. The Community Payback Orders supervised probation orders and attendance orders
and replaced community service orders. The main aim of the practice guidance was to
support the managers and practitioners engaged in providing criminal justice social work
services in order to decrease reoffending. The Community Payback Orders were able to
replace unnecessary complex community sentences and provided opportunities to increase
public understanding (Www2, 2010). The social work services have been able to influence
the criminal behaviour of the people which led to decrease in the reoffending in Scotland.
The law has played a significant role in providing protection to the people of the community
by increasing the pace of criminal justice social work services. It has also created a consistent
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and robust delivery of the community sentence in order to improve the credibility of
sentencing options with judges. It has been able to create a positive impact on people by
addressing and changing their behaviour that reduced reoffending. It has encouraged people
to make payback to society by changing the offending behaviour and provided opportunities
for reintegrating into the community as contributing and law abiding citizens.
Source: (Gov, 2017)
National Strategy for community justice 2016
The National Strategy for Community Justice was being introduced to decrease crime, the
number of victims of crime, creating an inclusive and equitable community in order to ensure
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decrease reoffending in Scotland. The strategy has been implemented with the vision that
people will be held accountable for the offences but they would be provided with adequate
assistance in order to become a responsible and active contributor to the society (Matheson,
2016). The strategy has assisted to decrease reoffending by assisting the offenders to move
towards a
The strategy has been able to assist people to make positive changes and dealing with the
issues that force them to carry out criminal activities. The strategy has encouraged justice
partners to work with the people in order to understand their needs and improve their life.
The strategy has provided a vision to the community justice within the community. It is being
designed for assisting community partner’s key areas, driving and facilitating improvements
and support communities. The law has assisted in ensuring the safety of the people and
reducing reoffending in Scotland.
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Source: (Gov, 2017)
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References
Campbell, L. (2014). Organised Crime and the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act
2010. SSRN Electronic Journal, 35(7), pp.658-693.
Gov (2017). Criminal proceedings in Scotland 2016-17: statistics - gov.scot. [online]
Gov.scot. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/criminal-proceedings-scotland-
2016-17/pages/55/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
Gov (2017). Recorded crime in Scotland: 2016-2017 - gov.scot. [online] Gov.scot. Available
at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2016-17/pages/14/ [Accessed
22 Apr. 2019].
Gov (2018). Criminal proceedings in Scotland 2017-2018 - gov.scot. [online] Gov.scot.
Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/criminal-proceedings-scotland-2017-18/
pages/4/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
Gov (2018). Recorded crime in Scotland 2017-2018 - gov.scot. [online] Gov.scot. Available
at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2017-18/pages/5/ [Accessed
22 Apr. 2019].
Legislation (2019). Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010. [online]
Legislation.gov.uk. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2010/13/contents
[Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
Matheson, M. (2016). National Strategy for Community Justice - gov.scot. [online] Gov.scot.
Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-strategy-community-justice/
[Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
McCallum, F. (2019). Children and the Scottish Criminal Justice System. [online]
Parliament.scot. Available at:
http://www.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefingsAndFactsheets/S4/SB_11-53.pdf [Accessed 21
Apr. 2019].
Scottish Government (2019). National Objectives for Social Work Services in the Criminal
Justice System: Standards Throughcare. [online] Www2.gov.scot. Available at:
https://www2.gov.scot/Publications/2004/12/20473/49295 [Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
Shiels, R. (2011). Shiels criminal procedure (Scotland) Act 1995. 3rd ed. Edinburgh:
Thomson/W. Green.
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Social Work (2019). Social Work Centenary: Timeline: National Objectives and Standards
for Social Work Services in the Criminal Justice System. [online] Social work.ed.ac.uk.
Available at:
http://www.socialwork.ed.ac.uk/centenary/timeline/events/national_objectives_and_standards
_for_social_work_services_in_the_criminal_justice_system [Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
Www2 (2010). National Outcomes and Standards for Social Work Services in the Criminal
Justice System. [online] Www2.gov.scot. Available at:
https://www2.gov.scot/resource/doc/925/0110144.pdf [Accessed 21 Apr. 2019].
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