National Community Justice Strategy and Performance Framework: impact assessments

National Strategy for Community Justice and Delivery Plan: Fairer Scotland Duty (FSD) Summary

Title of Policy, Strategy, Programme

National Strategy for Community Justice (Revision) and accompanying Delivery Plan

National Strategy for Community Justice

National Strategy for Community Justice: Delivery Plan

Summary of aims and expected outcomes of strategy, proposal, programme or policy

The revised National Strategy for Community Justice (strategy) and the accompanying delivery plan set the national direction for community justice by building on the progress made to date.

The strategy focuses on setting out four national aims for community justice, and priority actions which the Scottish Government and community justice partners should take over the duration of the strategy. It is accompanied by a delivery plan to ensure implementation and drive towards actions at a national, as well as local, level. Community justice partners have a statutory duty to have regard to the strategy and work collaboratively to improve community justice outcomes across Scotland.

The revised strategy recognises that there will always be a place for prison and that public protection is paramount – it equally recognises the evidence that community-based interventions and sentences can be more effective in reducing reoffending and assisting with rehabilitation than short-term custodial sentences, while protecting the public and robustly managing risk.

The four national aims of the strategy are:

1. Optimise the use of diversion and intervention at the earliest opportunity.

2. Ensure that robust and high quality community interventions and public protection arrangements are consistently available across Scotland.

3. Ensure that services are accessible and available to address the needs of individuals accused or convicted of an offence.

4. Strengthen the leadership, engagement, and partnership working of local and national community justice partners.

The purpose of the delivery plan is to expand on the strategy by setting out a number of tangible, time-limited deliverables, detailing exactly what work will be undertaken to drive improvement nationally for each of the aims and priority actions contained in the strategy.

The delivery plan has been prepared in consultation with representatives of community justice partners and its contents reflect the pressure that delivery partners are under. When developing the delivery plan, we have focused principally on opportunities for enhancing partnership working, helping to ensure the spread of best practice, and on ensuring greater visibility for ongoing work. The delivery plan does not currently focus on areas of work which would require significant new investment, however future iterations will seek, where possible to build upon the existing deliverables to identify new projects that accord with the aims of the strategy.

As with the strategy, the delivery plan is designed to complement the Scottish Government’s Vision for Justice in Scotland published in 2022, which sets out our vision for a just, safe and resilient Scotland.

Summary of evidence

The likelihood of being a victim of crime was greater for adults in the 15% most deprived areas compared with those living in the rest of Scotland. The proportion of those in the 15% most deprived areas experiencing crime has fallen from 26.0% in 2008/09 to 16.5% in 2019/20. Over the same period, the prevalence rate for those living elsewhere in Scotland dropped from 19.4% to 11.2%.^[7]

Individuals from the 10% most deprived areas are over-represented in arrivals in Scottish prisons by a factor of three - a finding consistent across the last decade.^[8]

People in the justice system commonly experience severe and multiple disadvantage, including homelessness, substance misuse, mental ill health and domestic violence or abuse.

For example, in 2020-21, there were 1,765 homelessness applications from people departing the prison system.^[9] This is approximately 5% of all homelessness applications in Scotland.

Information collected on community sentences (Community Payback Orders (CPOs) and Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs)) show over the last five years, when employment status was known, the majority of people tended to be unemployed. This ranged from 55% to 62% for CPOs and 62 to 68% for DTTOs.^[10]

Evidence suggests that community based interventions are more effective than short-term custodial sentences, when looking at the 2016-17 offender cohort. Those released from a short prison sentence of 12 months or less are reconvicted nearly twice as often as those sentenced to serve community payback orders.^[11]

Effective community justice can help address offending behaviour and its underlying causes. If individuals are rehabilitated effectively, reoffending rates will reduce further over time, there will be fewer victims of crime and communities will be safer.

Summary of assessment findings

No changes have been made to the proposal as a result of the assessment, but the issues associated with socio-economic disadvantage have been properly considered throughout the development and drafting of the strategy and delivery plan.

The development of the strategy and the delivery plan has been informed by significant engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, assisted by a public consultation on the revised strategy. It has taken into account evidence of a range of different publications, including by the Scottish Government and other partners.

We recognise that there is no single way to experience poverty, but individuals will face a wide range of unique experiences. The focus of the strategy is consequently multi-faceted, with aspects going beyond the criminal justice system and relating to health, employability, and the provision of housing, in reflection of the criminogenic and non-criminogenic needs facing many individuals who have lived experience of the justice system and the structural barriers that a significant number will encounter.

Core to the strategy is the ambition to shift the balance between use of custody and justice in the community. Imprisonment is inherently damaging, removing people from their homes, jobs, families and communities – the very things that we know reduce reoffending. Reoffending has a massive impact on people and communities, creating victims and damaging future chances.

By including aims, actions, and deliverables intended to improve the provision and availability of high quality, person-centred support services and interventions as an alternative to custody, the strategy and delivery plan have the potential to contribute to a reduction in inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage.

As with the assessment for the closely related Community Justice Performance Framework, a potential improvement was identified in relation to gaps in the evidence base available. Action is being taken to address this as part of ongoing work (which is itself referenced in the delivery plan), as the issues noted cannot be resolved within the timeframe required for the launch of the strategy and delivery plan.

Socio-economic issues will continue to be considered during the ongoing implementation of the strategy and delivery plan.

Sign off Name: Quentin Fisher

Job title: Interim Deputy Director Community Justice

Date: 21 November 2023