We will ensure that Police Scotland has the resources they need to protect the people of Scotland, by protecting the police revenue budget in real terms for the entirety of the next parliament.
We strengthened our police service with extra officers, helping to reduce crime to a 41-year low. It is vital that we keep frontline policing strong to keep crime low. However, the nature of crime is changing and the police need to reflect this. We will therefore ensure that the police also have more specialists, such as experts in cyber-crime and counter-fraud and that the service has the right mix and numbers of staff for the future.
To support the rehabilitation of offenders and reduce reoffending, we will improve community-based alternatives to short-term prison sentences.
A new model for women’s prisons will continue to be developed to reduce reoffending and promote rehabilitation, with a smaller national women’s prison and local community-based custody units.
We are committed to tackling violence against women and have passed legislation to ensure courts take domestic abuse into account when sentencing an offender, and to create a new specific offence to help tackle domestic abuse.
We have legislated to create a specific human trafficking offence and have developed Scotland’s first Human Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy to tackle this heinous crime.